THE Braille Forum Vol. XXX June 1992 No. 8 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 offers 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, 6:00 p.m. to midnight eastern time Monday through Friday. Washington, D.C., residents only, tel. 296-3552. Copyright 1992 The American Council of the Blind TABLE OF CONTENTS President's Message: Good Times and Bad Times for Workshops News Briefs From the ACB National Office Last Minute Convention Reminders ACB Convention Program Highlights Communicating Your Way to the Top: The Employment Workshop in Phoenix ADA: Get Ready to Implement What Disabled Job Seekers Need to Know About Reasonable Accommodation Legal Access: Thanks to the Women's Movement True Vision From a Young Person From the Front Porch to the Phone, It's a New Day for Newspapers ACB Board Prepares for Convention Blindness Doesn't Stop Her From Directing Drivers Are You Ready for Some Bowling in Your Basement? Affiliate News FCC Responds to ACB Resolution 91-02 Thirty Years Ago in the "Forum" Here and There Affiliate Profile: Friends in Art: Building Bridges High Tech Swap Shop PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE: GOOD TIMES AND BAD TIMES FOR WORKSHOPS by LeRoy F. Saunders I recently attended the General Council of Workshops for the Blind and National Industries for the Blind's annual sale seminar. I have been attending the meetings of these two organizations for over thirty years. GCWB, which is affiliated with NIB, is an organization of workshops serving the blind in this country. NIB was formed in 1938 to be the allocating agency to distribute federal contracts available to the workshops through the Javits-Wagner-O'Day Act passed by Congress in the same year. This act allowed the federal government to purchase certain items from the workshops, which provided employment for blind people. In order for the workshops to manufacture items under the JWOD Act, they must be non-profit, and at least 75% of their direct labor must be performed by people who meet the legal definition of blindness. Direct laborers actually manufacture an item. Indirect laborers include supervisors, material handlers, and administrative staff. Over the years, the workshops have grown to 108 in number. They hired very few blind people initially, but today employ over 6,000 blind workers. JWOD is one of the most successful employment acts passed by Congress and has employed many more blind people than the Randolph Sheppard Act. Many workshops have become large agencies and offer other services besides employment to visually handicapped people, although there are still some smaller workshops. Sizes range from those workshops employing 20 to 25 direct labor blind to a few who employ more than 500. The small number of items manufactured in 1939 has grown to more than 1,800 items and continues to increase. Many of the workshops have become large manufacturing facilities with sophisticated modern equipment. Much of this machinery has been modified for blind people to operate, as well as for safety reasons. Many of these workshops operate on the money received from their sales and have very little subsidy to offset the cost of operation. Anyone in business today knows how competitive sales are and the declining economy doesn't help at all. Also, many of the workshops depend heavily on receiving contracts for items sold under the JWOD Act to the federal government. During these meetings, I was sorry to learn that due to cutbacks in government spending and phasing down inventory levels, many of the workshops have had to lay off blind people. Orders are not coming in and the prices of many items are being lowered. This makes it difficult for manufacturers to compete and make a profit. The changes taking place in this country are affecting everyone. The bright side of this meeting was seeing how many of the workshops are moving into different markets and diversifying their product lines in order to find new customers. NIB is about to embark on a program that hopefully will help bring new federal customers and they are working hard to add additional items to be manufactured under the JWOD program. When you have been involved with the workshops as long as I have, you see these downturns periodically. However, the current setback is different because in order to recover, most workshops will have to make major changes in their operations whereas before, they only needed to wait until customers started purchasing again. NEWS BRIEFS FROM THE ACB NATIONAL OFFICE by Oral O. Miller, National Representative Do you have your own braille copy of a comprehensive dictionary and thesaurus? I don't. The braille copy of the so-called "vest pocket" dictionary I own occupies almost one shelf of a large bookcase, all of whose shelves would be needed to store the dozens of volumes making up the traditional unabridged braille dictionary. For these and other good reasons, you can understand why staff members of the ACB national office were excited when we recently received a demonstration of a hand-held, computerized talking dictionary, thesaurus and game center, now being developed by the Franklin Electronic Publishing Company. The dictionary/thesaurus features a standard (if small) keyboard, adequately clear speech and a visual display. We will soon receive a unit for further evaluation, the results of which will be published in a future article in "The Braille Forum." People who attend the convention in Phoenix will be able to test and probably buy units of their own. Though some people want you to believe otherwise, don't ever think that residential schools for the education of blind students are necessarily restrictive, tradition-bound, overly protective or patronizing! Proof of this truth walked into the ACB national office recently in the form of a visually impaired student who is "simultaneously" attending both a residential school and a public high school in the same town-- a practice many residential schools in this country have followed for decades. What was he doing in Washington? He participated in a high school political science project identified as the Washington Seminar. He was responsible for setting up interviews, traveling around Washington to conduct the interviews, hearing and following a survey/questionnaire which he had prepared for use with each interviewee, and submitting to his school a report of his findings. The sponsors of the project arranged only group transportation to and from Washington and group housing while here; each student was responsible for all costs of the trip plus logistics. The young man in question, who did not identify himself as a high school student at the time he set up the interview, focused on the American education system and the education of blind students in particular. His decision not to identify himself as a student was not intended to mislead anyone; the project recommended the practice to prevent prospective interviewees from taking the participants too lightly. The young man attends the Wisconsin School for the Blind and a Janesville public high school. The recent meeting of the National Advisory Council of the Mississippi State University Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Blindness and Low Vision confirmed that the Center, which recently complied with applicable accessibility requirements, is still generally doing a good and professional job. The Council-- which includes representatives of ACB, the Blinded Veterans Association, and the National Federation of the Blind, among other organizations-- was treated to the always exceptional Mississippi hospitality as well as many reports concerning the wide variety of research and training projects recently completed, now underway and in the proposal stage. A partial list of the topics now being researched, converted to training projects or considered for either would include participation by low incidence groups (such as minorities) in the blindness field, education of mainstream vision teachers regarding technology, drug use among blind and visually impaired people, business enterprise program marketing, standards for selection of technology for specific people for specific uses, cost-effectiveness of different service delivery systems (very relevant), retention of jobs after loss of sight, validation of instructional practices with deaf-blind students, and literacy of blind people and education of vision specialists concerning blindness. Members of the Council were not simply passive recipients of information; some of the matters which I questioned, for example, related to the adequacy of staffing and other plans for the operation of a somewhat specialized information and referral service, the adequacy of the diversity of the visually impaired students to be surveyed in connection with the literacy research project and the possible duplicative nature of a project concerning evaluation of technology. Readers of "The Braille Forum" should watch for information in future issues concerning the need of the Center to greatly expand its base of blind subjects for future research and the ways in which interested blind people may volunteer to be in that database. The Center announced also the establishment of the Anne Sullivan Macy Scholarship for the training of a graduate student in the field of blindness and low vision as well as the receipt of federal funds for the construction of a rehabilitation engineering technology center. The Advisory Council elected Carroll Jackson of the Greater Detroit Society for the Blind to serve as chairman of the Council for the duration of the five year cycle. ACB staff members continue to serve as speakers on programs of many workshops regarding the Americans with Disabilities Act. Recently, for example, it was my pleasure to address the Association of Airport Executives regarding, among other things, signage requirements. It was our pleasure in late April to welcome Mrs. Akalay, a visitor from Morocco, to the National Office. She is interested in education of the blind and included a stop at our office as a part of a national tour of various agencies and facilities. Commendations to Justin Dart Jr., chairman of the President's Committee on Employment of People With Disabilities, for the courageous decision he made, in the face of critical opposition, for PCEPD to sponsor five consumers from the USA to take part in Independence '92, a large international cross-disability conference in Canada involving approximately 3,000 disabled people from more than 100 countries as the closing function of the United Nations Decade of the Disabled. Although the conference was supported strongly by the Canadian government and various commercial and noncommercial interests in Canada and although the International Congress of Disabled Persons International was scheduled to precede and follow it, Independence '92 was not widely publicized in the USA, and prior to Mr. Dart's action, very few disabled consumers in the USA planned to attend and take part in either event. As a result of his action, representatives from ACB, the National Association of the Deaf and the National Council on Independent Living, among other organizations, took part in Independence '92 on April 30 in Vancouver, B.C. The conference, which featured several plenary sessions and dozens of concurrent workshops, served as a forum for the discussion of a wide variety of broad topics-- such as inclusion/empowerment of disabled people, literacy and learning disabilities, enhancement of employment, problems of disabled aboriginal people, self-advocacy, "liberation and vision," technology, income- generating activities and developing connections, integrated education, peer support, concerns of disabled women, attitudinal barriers, sports and leisure activity as a vehicle for participation, the media and the message, AIDS education, influencing the political process and violence against disabled people. The various sessions generally were not designed to develop resolutions or other positions although their broad consensus positions appeared to be reached in some other workshops which I attended. Unfortunately, the conference suffered from some of the difficulties encountered by all large international conferences dealing with different languages and a broad variety of disabilities, but in addition it suffered from an obvious lack of planning concerning the needs of blind and visually impaired people. Although the purpose of this paragraph is not to detail all the difficulties encountered by the relatively small number of blind people who attended Independence '92 and the DPI congress, recitation of a few will be enlightening. Nothing in the nature of a braille program was available until the third or fourth day of the conference. Most volunteers who assisted with the conference had no prior training or instruction as to what they were to do. Almost no system existed for conveying information to people who could not read visual signs in the convention center. The shuttle bus transportation system that was run for the benefit of the conference attendees did not serve all the hotels publicized to and used by attendees. Most meeting rooms were not marked in any accessible medium. There was a considerable daily rental charge for the cassette players needed to listen to recorded tapes of the program (once the print-handicapped attendees learned of the existence of the tapes) and the enormous exposition hall contained exhibits by only two or three exhibitors displaying equipment of specific interest to blind or visually impaired people. Conspicuous by its absence from the list of sponsors of the conference was the Canadian National Institute for the Blind, whose officials said they had offered to be of assistance in planning and carrying out the conference, but had hardly been contacted thereafter. Although the Americans with mobility disabilities who attended the conference were very helpful and cooperative to the Americans with visual or hearing disabilities, the clear lack of knowledgeable forethought on the part of the conference planners concerning the needs of blind people did not help do away with the skepticism felt by many blind people about deep involvement in truly broad based cross-disability coalitions. The delegation of disabled Americans, led generally by members of Disabled Persons International in the USA, adopted and distributed a resolution in the nature of a statement objecting to the lack of accommodations provided to people with sensory disabilities attending the conference. While it continues to be the policy of the ACB not to devote thousands of words to topics such as the vendetta which another organization of blind people in the United States has conducted against the National Accreditation Council for approximately the past twenty years, it is, indeed, newsworthy that despite recent and very vociferous claims that the Ohio rehabilitation services commission was on the verge of withdrawing recognition of NAC for purposes of state service contracts, the Ohio rehabilitation services commission, in fact, renewed that recognition after hearing an objective discussion of the facts. As discussed in an article in the "Braille Forum" earlier this year, ACB past president Grant Mack and I met first with members of the ACB of Ohio board of directors. ACB Director of Governmental Affairs Paul Schroeder and ACB of Ohio Executive Director Ken Morlock then presented the facts and answered questions at a public meeting of the Ohio Rehabilitation Services Commission, which voted to continue recognition of NAC. LAST MINUTE CONVENTION REMINDERS by John A. Horst, Convention Coordinator Now that the time for the 31st Annual National Convention of the American Council of the Blind is almost here, you'll want to be certain you are ready. This will be a great convention and you should plan carefully to be sure you don't miss out on any exhibits, tours, meetings and social events which interest you. By the time you read this, your transportation and hotel reservations should be made, and the pre-registration form completed and mailed. Some tours are limited and pre-registration costs are lower than those at the convention. Forms received in Jim Olsen's office after June 19 can't be accepted for preregistration costs, so don't delay. Remember that ACB's designated travel agency is International Tours Inc. of Muskogee, Okla., (800) 847-7676. Oklahoma residents call (800) 722-9822. The lead convention hotel is the Hyatt Regency (602) 252-1234, where room rates are $45 per night. The overflow hotel is the Omni-Adams, (602) 257-1525, where the rates are $40 per night. The convention begins Sunday evening, July 5 at 8 p.m. with the preliminary general session. However, there are many functions on Saturday and Sunday before this session. Check your pre-registration information carefully. Guide dog users should be mindful of the high temperatures in Phoenix. All activities of the convention except for exhibits and tours will take place at the Hyatt. The exhibits are at the civic center, located across the plaza from the front of the hotel. All tours will depart from the north entrance of the Hyatt. Persons signed up for tours should be at the north entrance 20 minutes before the time the tour is scheduled and wait inside the hotel. All tours will leave promptly at the time indicated. The convention committee, assisted by the host committee of the Arizona Council of the Blind, is doing its best to make your stay in Phoenix a pleasant and enjoyable one. You won't want to miss out on this great experience. ACB CONVENTION PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS With the upcoming national convention virtually days away, here's a quick look at some of the highlights of this year's program. Nell C. Carney, commissioner of the Rehabilitation Services Administration, will address the changes pending as a result of the reauthorization of the Rehabilitation Act. Those in attendance at the convention will get updates on the activities of the American Printing House for the Blind from Tuck Tinsley, APH's president. A representative from Recording for the Blind will also update ACB members on that agency's activities and services. Frank Kurt Cylke, director of the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, was invited to speak, but elected to send Miriam Pace, chief of the Network Division, in his place. Yvonne Fair Tessler, a narrator at Talking Book Publishing in Denver, will also address the convention. Two speakers will provide information on Arizona's history and the state's civil rights activities. ACB First Vice President Paul Edwards will moderate a panel on the education of the blind, and ACB Secretary Patricia Price will moderate a panel on services to older blind Americans. Doug Wakefield, formerly the editor of the computer magazine "Newsbits," will provide a technology overview and survey information. Convention attendees will learn about operating credit unions as an affiliate service. Wilbert Williams, president of the Caribbean Council of the Blind, will be this year's international speaker. The banquet speaker will be Rev. Al Staggs, a humorist, impressionist, and political satirist, and a self-described moonlighting Baptist minister from San Antonio, Texas. COMMUNICATING YOUR WAY TO THE TOP: THE EMPLOYMENT WORKSHOP IN PHOENIX Stan, who is blind, was recently hired at the Penn Walt Insurance Company as the supervisor of the claims division. He is asked to brief his division on new policy pertaining to the company's recycling program. He must gather appropriate training materials to present to his group during the training. Training materials will include a five-minute video, a handbook on recycling for supervisors, and a flip chart which highlights the points discussed during the video. Does Stan communicate to his manager what he needs to accomplish this assignment? Or should he tackle this assignment independently? What kind of adaptive equipment does the office have to help him? How will Stan handle the information on the flip chart, which highlights the important parts of his presentation? While the above scenario may not seem complicated, it could present several concerns for a blind person who has never before taken on such a responsibility. In this role the employee is challenged with the responsibility of communicating to his listeners the importance of this new recycling policy. He must demonstrate a command of his material and he must be able to handle questions from participants. This exercise in overcoming communication hurdles goes beyond saying, "Good morning." On July 5, 1992 at 9:00 a.m., ACB conventioneers will learn positive approaches to handling communication hurdles which they may encounter during their work day. The employment workshop's speaker will be Billi Lee, a well-known speaker on workplace strategies. Her company, Billi Lee & Company, Inc., sponsors seminars all over the country dedicated to helping people learn employment strategies. In addition, Lee can be heard on the radio show "A Different Perspective...Working Smart," which is carried on stations throughout the United States. Sarita Kimble, a member of the Employment Planning Committee, encourages all ACB conventiongoers to take advantage of this training opportunity. ADA: GET READY TO IMPLEMENT by Paul W. Schroeder Director of Governmental Affairs This is the fourth part in the series of articles on some of the specific provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act which are most relevant for people who are blind or visually impaired. The focus in this article is protection against employment discrimination. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is the federal agency which was given responsibility for implementing the employment provisions of the ADA. EEOC issued regulations to implement the requirements of the Act on July 26, 1991. The requirements actually begin to go into effect on July 26, 1992 On that date, employers with 25 or more employees must comply with ADA. Employers with 15 or more employees will be covered on July 26, 1994. Employers with less than 15 employees are exempt from the employment provisions of the ADA. In addition, employment agencies, labor unions and other related organizations are covered. The federal government is not covered under this section of ADA since Section 504 applies to it. ADA's provisions regarding nondiscrimination in employment depend to a great degree on the interaction of an individual with an employer. The employment requirements of the Act place few requirements for action or change on the employer. The focus is on the treatment given to an individual with a disability who is seeking a job, promotion or some other benefit related to employment. This is important, because it means that each of us must take responsibility for helping to implement the employment section of the ADA. By becoming aware of your equal employment opportunity rights under the ADA you should find it easier to conduct and execute your job search, even if you never need to file a discrimination complaint. As with most other areas included in the ADA, the employment provisions are largely an extension of other federal laws: Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Similar to 504, the ADA prohibits discrimination in employment on the basis of disability, including the provision of necessary reasonable accommodations. Like the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that prohibits discrimination on the bases of race, color, religion, national origin, and sex, the ADA seeks to ensure access to equal employment opportunities based on merit. FOUR KEY TERMS: DISABILITY, QUALIFIED INDIVIDUAL WITH A DISABILITY, ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS AND REASONABLE ACCOMODATION To understand how the employment discrimination language of the ADA and its accompanying regulations will affect you, it is important to understand these four terms. ADA's protection from employment discrimination based on "disability" applies only to a "qualified individual with a disability." The definition of disability closely approximates the definition of handicap from Section 504. Disability is a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits at least one major life activity (such as seeing). Also, individuals who have a record of this kind of limitation or who are regarded as having such an impairment are considered to have a disability. However, individuals must also be qualified for the job they are seeking. This means that an individual with a disability must also possess the skills, experience, education and other job-related requirements sought by the employer. Finally, the individual must be able to perform the "essential functions" of the job. Essential functions are those job duties which are fundamental or critical to the job. It is important to understand essential functions because it is against these duties that your qualification to do a job must be measured, and it is these duties for which a reasonable accommodation may be considered. Job descriptions are normally an excellent place to find the essential functions or duties to be performed by the employee, although written job descriptions are not required under ADA. Other factors are also important. These questions might help determine which functions are essential: Is the job highly specialized? What were the duties of the individual who previously held the job? How many other employees in the business are doing the same job? How much time is spent doing particular duties? What would happen if certain duties were not performed? When you are applying for a job, you should try to determine the essential functions of that position. Knowledge of the essential functions will help you if you are discriminated against. It will also be of benefit to you as you attempt to market your skills to the employer. Reasonable accommodation is discussed in detail in "What Disabled Job Seekers Need to Know About Reasonable Accommodation," (this issue.) WHAT IS EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION? The employment provisions of the ADA and the implementing regulations are intended to prevent, or protect individuals with disabilities from, a broad range of discriminatory actions. Discrimination is prohibited in: recruitment, employment tests, medical examinations, hiring, promotion, seniority, termination, compensation, job assignment, provision of reasonable accommodations, leave time, fringe benefits, training opportunities and employer-sponsored recreation or social activities. EXAMPLES AND FURTHER EXPLANATIONS Certainly, an employer cannot legally deny you employment simply because you have a disability, that is once the ADA goes into effect. However, it is commonly argued that discrimination is often unintentional. For instance, an employer might not consider assisting someone who is blind in filling out a job application. Or, the employer might require a vision test, whether or not the duties to be performed by the employee require vision. Under the ADA, the employer would likely have to accommodate the applicant who is blind by assisting with completion of the job application. The employer might have to forgo the vision test because medical or similar inquiries are not permitted before an offer of employment has been made. On the other hand, it would not be discriminatory for an employer to ask how you will perform certain job duties. An employer cannot deny you fringe benefits (health insurance problems are the best example) simply because you have a disability. However, the employer's health insurance policy is allowed to include limitations on preexisting conditions or treatment, or other limitations, as long as these limitations are not included as a means to deny employment to or otherwise discriminate against an individual with a disability. Employment tests are another frequently cited problem area. The tests must be designed and administered to measure the skills or aptitudes or other factor related to the job. Unfortunately, tests are often given in a way which instead penalizes the individual with a sensory disability such as blindness. In short, unless the job requires a certain visual acuity, any employment test should be given in a manner which is accessible. The employer does not have to honor your choice of formats, but either the test must be accessible or the skill being tested must be measured in some other way. Limitations in duties or assignments are sometimes placed on employees with disabilities. Because these limitations are usually based on myths and stereotypes about what is "appropriate" for a disabled person, the limitation would likely be discriminatory. Training opportunities are often a problem because training materials may not be in accessible formats. Under the ADA, training and similar benefits offered to employees must be accessible to employees with disabilities. The same is true of recreation or social events sponsored by the employer. SOME CAUTIONS AND EXCEPTIONS Some limitations are included in the employment section of the law. For example, the provision of reasonable accommodation is limited by "undue hardship" to the employer. Or, an employer may argue that provisions of another federal law do not permit the provision of a necessary reasonable accommodation such as reassignment to a vacant position. In addition, employers can establish certain qualifications which are job- related and consistent with business necessity such as production standards. Offers of employment may be conditioned on the results of a medical examination, but only if the exam is given after an offer of employment has been made and only if all employees in the same category are subject to the same medical examination. If an individual with a disability is denied employment because of the results of that medical examination, the employer must show that the reason for the denial is related to the job or that a reasonable accommodation is not available to allow the individual to do the job. One of the more unfortunate provisions included by EEOC in its regulations was the language allowing an employer to include in its qualification standards that an individual not be a direct threat to the health or safety of him or herself or others. This danger to oneself argument has been used repeatedly to deny employment to individuals with disabilities based on prejudicial stereotypes and fears. However, EEOC does strictly limit the use of direct threat to instances where there is a substantial risk of harm which cannot be eliminated or reduced by reasonable accommodation. The determination of direct threat must result from an individual assessment based on medical or other objective evidence. Nonetheless, we must be vigilant about the use and possible abuse of this qualification standard. ENFORCEMENT The employment provisions of the ADA are enforced by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission under the same procedures used to enforce Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The Commission receives and investigates charges of discrimination and seeks through conciliation to resolve any discrimination found and obtain full relief for the affected individual. A job applicant or employee who believes he or she has been discriminated against on the basis of disability in employment by a private, state, or local government employer, labor union, employment agency, or joint labor management committee can file a charge with EEOC. An individual, whether disabled or not, also may file a charge if he or she has been discriminated against because of an association with a person with a known disability. In addition, an individual who believes that he or she has suffered retaliation because of filing or assisting in a charge may also file a complaint. Finally, another person or organization may file a charge on behalf of an applicant or employee. If conciliation is not successful, the EEOC may file a suit or issue a "right to sue" letter to the person who filed the charge. An individual can file a lawsuit against an employer, but a charge must first be filed with EEOC. If the charge involves a state or local government agency, EEOC will refer the case to the Department of Justice for further action. Available remedies for violations of Title I of the ADA include hiring, reinstatement, promotion, back pay, front pay, restored benefits, reasonable accommodation, attorneys' fees, expert witness fees, and court costs. Compensatory and punitive damages also may be available in cases of intentional discrimination or where an employer fails to make a good faith effort to provide a reasonable accommodation. Language was included in the ADA to encourage resolution of disputes through conciliation in order to avoid litigation. Disputes between employers and individuals with disabilities frequently can be resolved more effectively through informal negotiation or mediation procedures. Incidentally, remember that civil rights or other employment discrimination laws in your state may offer more comprehensive protection from discrimination. In particular, laws in many states cover employers with fewer than 15 employees. WHAT DISABLED JOB SEEKERS NEED TO KNOW ABOUT REASONABLE ACCOMODATION by Mitch Pomerantz One of the most misunderstood aspects of the employment of persons with disabilities is the term "reasonable accommodation". I have worked for the city of Los Angeles for 17 years, and I've been attempting for what sometimes seems like forever to educate managers, supervisors, and anyone else who would listen on the topic of reasonable accommodation. With the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, employers have suddenly recognized the need to understand this concept. I tell these employers that the job seeker with a disability is in the best position to explain what he or she needs. That theory seems sound, but my experience is that its truth depends upon how knowledgeable the disabled applicant is about reasonable accommodation. Even with the ADA, everyone who interviews for a job over the next few years will most likely have to train those interviewers. So, please consider this a training session. Just exactly what is reasonable accommodation, anyway? The first thing you need to keep in mind is that reasonable accommodation is not a new concept. Employers have been accommodating their workers since the first coffee break was written into a labor contract. Such things as air conditioning, sick leave, and paid vacations are common examples of accommodations which have been accepted as standard practice by employers. Reasonable accommodation may be thought of as efforts made by the employer to remove any barriers, physical or attitudinal, which prevent or limit the employment and upward mobility of disabled persons. Reasonable accommodation as defined in the ADA may include: providing or modifying equipment or devices; job restructuring; part-time or modified work schedules; reassignment to a vacant position; putting examinations, training materials or policies into accessible formats; providing readers and interpreters; and making the workplace readily accessible to and usable by people with disabilities. Employers have difficulty with this concept because it can only be determined on a case-by-case basis, taking into account the applicant, his/her specific disability, the particular job duties, the working environment and the financial capabilities of the employer. An employer must provide reasonable accommodation to a qualified applicant or employee with a disability unless that employer can show that the accommodation poses an undue hardship-- that is, significant difficulty or expense. Under ADA, one of the things which makes someone a qualified person with a disability is that person's ability to perform essential functions-- fundamental job duties-- either unassisted, or with the help of reasonable accommodation. The factors determining whether a function is essential or nonessential include: whether the position depends upon performing that function; the number of other employees available to perform the function; and the degree of expertise or skill required to perform the function. An employer cannot refuse to hire you because the disability prevents you from performing duties that are not essential to the job. If you are applying for a job, an employer cannot ask if you are disabled, or about the nature or severity of your disability. An employer can ask if and how you could perform the duties of the job, again with or without reasonable accommodation. Reasonable accommodation is best understood when it is categorized. These categories are: work restrictions; jobsite modification; job restructuring; support services; auxiliary aids; and barrier removal (both architectural and institutional). WORK RESTRICTIONS This is the most common method of providing reasonable accommodation; at least one-half of all accommodations fall into this category. The employer may limit the individual from performing certain physical functions, or restrict access to a range of environmental and/or working conditions (e.g., elevation, weather, chemicals, etc.), as a condition of employment. Some examples: prohibiting an employee from driving a company car; restricting an individual from climbing; banning the worker from lifting more than 25 pounds; allowing additional rest periods; avoiding rotating shifts; or utilizing flex-time. Work restrictions such as these are typically imposed on employees with diabetes, back conditions, seizure disorders, or severe allergies. JOB RESTRUCTURING This involves eliminating certain duties which the disabled person cannot perform and substituting other tasks which that person can do. Remember, the ADA does not require that the essential functions of the job be substituted, but only those functions considered to be nonessential. For example, assume that sorting mail is a nonessential function of a secretarial position. If a blind employee could not perform that task efficiently, reasonable accommodation would involve reassigning that task to another clerical employee while the blind employee, in turn, became responsible for an equivalent share of that co-worker's reception and telephone work (other nonessential functions). Interviewers, especially those who are first-line supervisors, need to be reassured that you will accept your share of co-workers' nonessential duties. JOBSITE MODIFICATION This involves changing the method and means by which a task is accomplished, and is therefore more complex and technically oriented. This process can require imagination, creativity and a little flexibility. When a jobsite modification is considered, you must be consulted from the outset and kept involved throughout the accommodation process. Raising a desk for someone in a wheelchair is an obvious example of this category of reasonable accommodation. SUPPORT SERVICES This is an accommodation in which another individual, such as an interpreter or a reader, must interact with the disabled employee in order for that employee to perform the job. The primary criterion to keep in mind concerning provision of support services is that the assistant is there to facilitate job performance, not to complete the actual job duties. An interpreter lets a deaf employee know what another person is saying without interjecting his/her own feelings or opinions. A reader lets a blind employee know what is on the printed page and follows the employee's directions regarding disposition of the information. In most instances, hearing or reading is not a job duty; understanding what has been spoken or written and making use of that information is important. AUXILIARY AIDS This term refers to the tools or equipment which allow us to perform the job efficiently, with little or no assistance. This category causes employers the most concern about potential expense. Many employers don't realize that several aids and devices are relatively inexpensive. A speech synthesizer which permits a blind person to access the office computer can cost as little as $200. Also, many of us already have our own equipment which we could bring to the job if necessary. Examples of common auxiliary aids include talking calculators and computers, telecommunications devices for the deaf, one-handed typewriters and revolving desk tops. BARRIER REMOVAL This category is divided into architectural barriers and institutional barriers. Interviewers may not have the power to alleviate architectural barriers for blind and visually impaired people, such as protruding objects which cannot be readily located by a cane, or inadequate signage. However, they should certainly become aware of the potential impact such barriers can have on the participation of blind and visually impaired persons in the employment process. Institutional barriers are less obvious and are frequently the most difficult to overcome. Employers can eliminate institutional barriers by engaging in outreach recruitment efforts directed at the disability community; having a functioning TDD in operation during normal business hours to provide job information to deaf individuals; providing assistance to blind or learning-disabled candidates wishing to fill out a job application; offering an alternate testing site if the regular site is inaccessible; or by utilizing braille, tape or large print testing materials. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has prepared a booklet entitled "Your Rights As An Individual with a Disability," an outstanding resource for anyone interested in becoming more knowledgeable about reasonable accommodation. You can order the booklet in braille, large print, audiotape or computer disk by contacting EEOC at (202) 663-4395 (voice) or (202) 663-4399 (TDD). You can also write them at 1801 L Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20507. Finally, one cautionary comment: It has always been my philosophy that a disabled applicant should never lose out on a good job because an employer will not or cannot pay for an accommodation. While the Americans with Disabilities Act is clearly and unequivocally on our side, I absolutely believe that getting the job is what matters. I say this because our unemployment rate is close to 70%, almost four times higher than for any other minority. Reasonable accommodation should be a tool to be appropriately utilized in the workplace; it should not be used--except in the most serious situations--as a weapon! LEGAL ACCESS THANKS TO THE WOMEN'S MOVEMENT! by Charles D. Goldman, Esq. (Reprinted with permission from "Horizons," May 1992) Christine Franklin. Barbara Kennelly. Gloria Steinem. These are not exactly three household names in the community of persons with disabilities. But they should be, as each in her own way has made a major contribution. Let me explain. Christine Franklin is the high school student who filed an action under Title IX of the Education Amendments alleging sexual harassment in a federally funded school in Georgia. She complained of being forced to have involuntary intercourse with a teacher, who resigned on condition that all charges against him be dropped, which led the school to close its investigation. Christine Franklin persevered and filed suit. In a landmark decision, the United States Supreme Court held that plaintiffs have the right to file private lawsuits to compel compliance with Title IX and, most significantly, can recover monetary damages! Franklin v. Gwinnett County, 112 S.Ct. 1028 (1992), is a major victory in support of a longstanding principle of civil rights law: where legal rights have been invaded and a federal statute provides for the general right to sue for such invasion, federal courts may use any and all available remedies, including monetary damages, to redress the wrong. The implications of Christine Franklin's lawsuit are profound. It could lead to awards of damages under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, which, like Title IX, has a general right to sue for its violation. Damages and Section 504 is an issue which has never reached the United States Supreme Court. Hopefully, after FRANKLIN, it won't have to get that far as all the courts will follow the rationale of FRANKLIN and award damages. (Some lower courts had already awarded damages under the Rehabilitation Act but other courts have not.) One key in the FRANKLIN case was the absence of a congressional limitation on remedies. And that brings us to Barbara Kennelly, who is at the forefront (along with other civil rights stalwarts-- men and women) in trying to reverse the congressional limitation on remedies that is in the Civil Rights Act of 1991, P.L. 102-166. Ms. Kennelly's bill, H.R. 3975, would eliminate the cap on the awards of damages that now is in effect for victims of discrimination based on sex, certain religious beliefs, or disability. The Women's Political Caucus has been quite active in marshalling support for the bill. The Consortium of Citizens with Disabilities also has been actively supporting the bill. The Bush Administration is opposed to it. There is a real possibility of an election year showdown on this bill. Give Congresswoman Kennelly credit. She is at the forefront of trying to legally empower persons with disabilities to be on the same tier as minorities and other persons protected by civil rights laws. "Empowerment" is a concept that runs rampant through Gloria Steinem's bestseller, "Revolution from Within." While this wonderful book is not a "disability" book, it is must reading because of its message for all persons-- whether or not they have a disability. Ms. Steinem explores at length concepts of self-esteem and our ability to empower ourselves by creating adult selves with self-esteem. The self-esteem which "Revolution from Within" describes is epitomized in people such as Christine Franklin and Congresswoman Kennelly. Reading "Revolution from Within" led me to reflect on the exponential empowerment that persons with disabilities experienced when the Americans with Disabilities Act became law. There has been an unprecedented groundswell of pride, of self-esteem that began with the signing ceremony at the White House lawn. Laws, such as ADA, the Rehabilitation Act, and Title IX of the Education Act, shaping how we view ourselves, can help us-- disabled or able-bodied, female or male--empower ourselves. Laws can provide the legal fabric, which in turn gives each of us, including Christine Franklin, the right to assert our esteemed selves to ensure vindication of our legal protection. These same laws lead to a political climate in which persons such as Barbara Kennelly can be in responsible positions to advocate for further progressive change. The self-esteem and empowerment which Gloria Steinem addresses are inextricably interwoven in a mutually reinforcing paradigm with the movement for progressive legal change. The women's movement does not benefit only women-- or men. The women's movement benefits people-- women and men, able-bodied and disabled, black and white, of whatever faith. And in this day of scrutinizing activities for their bottom line benefit, it is refreshing to recognize a movement which benefits us all. TRUE VISION FROM A YOUNG PERSON by Steve Bauer I know I date myself, but do you remember Art Linkletter? On his show, he did a short segment with children. He would ask a question or two and get their answers. "Kids Say the Darndest Things" provided some extremely funny and embarrassing moments. True, kids can say the darndest things, but they can also amaze you with some pretty deep insight. Rachel, 12, lived next door to my wife and me for eleven years. After a job transfer moved the family to California, we stayed in touch by telephone. On returning for a visit last summer, Rachel's mother game me something Rachel had written. It was both sweet and touching. As a class assignment, she had been asked to write down the one thing she would wish for if she could wish for anything for a day. The following is what she wrote: "I would wish that my neighbor in Kansas could see for at least a day. He is nice, loving, caring and a good man. He's funny and nice to his wife. So that's why I wish that he could see." Another experience I had with children shows that young people have deep insight and often really do think things through quite clearly. My fourth grade niece asked me to talk to her class about blindness. I took the usual gadgets along to show and let them touch. I prepared braille alphabet cards which included each student's name. I had talked to several people who warned me that fourth graders could ask some pretty embarrassing questions. I knew they couldn't top what a friend's wife asked once, but back to that in a moment. I talked to the class for about 20 minutes and took a deep breath as I started taking questions. Being forewarned that I was sure to be embarrassed, I was ready for anything. To my surprise, the questions were all quite good. Not one embarrassed me. Two questions that really stood out were: Does the light hurt your eyes and cause them to blink? I had to think fast on that one and answered that blinking is a natural way for the eye to lubricate itself. Boy, I hope I was right on that one. Do you consider your wife's eyes to be yours also? Now that's a good question. I said that in a way, I did. I told them it was extremely important for her to keep her eyes healthy because her vision was very important not only to her, but to me also. Now, back to that question I mentioned a moment ago. Kids say the darndest things, but so do adults. While visiting in our home, a friend's wife asked me one of the dumbest questions I've ever been asked. She said, "Do you sleep with your eyes open or closed?" With a hard bite on my lip to keep from laughing, I tried to answer the question. I'm sure you have similar experiences, but these are three that are special in one way or another to me. FROM THE FRONT PORCH TO THE PHONE, IT'S A NEW DAY FOR NEWSPAPERS by Nolan Crabb If you're planning to attend the ACB national convention this summer in Phoenix, and if you can't get through to the ACB convention newsline, you might decide to get a brief news update by calling PressLine, the telephone news service offered by the "Arizona Daily Republic" and the "Phoenix Gazette." The call is free, and it's a quick way to get everything from national news to the latest soap opera happenings. With more than 200 categories in PressLine, you can spend hours listening to everything from news and sports to the event calendar. PressLine is just one of a growing array of newspaper-sponsored voice information systems available in many cities throughout the country. According to the American Newspaper Publishers Association, more than 100 newspapers offer free-to-caller telephone audiotex services. These voice information services allow callers to select topics of interest by punching numbers on a Touch-Tone phone. You can hear the weather forecast one moment and your astrological forecast a moment later simply by tapping the category number for your chosen topic. At least five papers offer braille directories which list the various categories and their corresponding numbers. Some 300 newspapers are looking at establishing caller-pay services. These caller-pay services include 900 numbers; the papers share the revenues with media syndicates. Eight papers offer on-line services ranging from small bulletin boards to full- scale text and graphic services, according to ANPA. Four newspapers offer personal fax papers, allowing the reader to pick from esoteric stock options or other items not necessarily available in the regular edition of the paper. Newspaper publishers are emphasizing their voice and on-line services more stridently than ever as the war between the newspaper industry and the seven Regional Bell Operating Companies over who will provide telephone and computer-based information services to your home or business heats up. (See "Who Will Win the Information War," April 1992.) ANPA says many papers offer callers tomorrow's classified ads the night before they're published in the paper. Still others offer talking personal ads which allow callers to leave messages in a voice mailbox. The person who placed the ad can call back later to hear the recorded messages. Newspaper publishers fear significant advertising revenue losses if the Bell companies launch voice and computer-based information services. The Bell companies continue to lobby disability organizations, including the American Council of the Blind, assuring those organizations that their members will be better served by the telephone company once it is in the information-provision business. Those are powerful arguments, especially if your audience includes blind and partially sighted men and women who are hungry for timely information. Those arguments imply that the newspaper industry is doing little or nothing to provide that timely information--an implication that's simply not true, according to ANPA. "We worked with a local association for the blind to produce braille directories of the various categories in our system," says Kevin Ancell, special services manager for "The Joplin Globe" in Joplin, Mo. "My computer allows me to see what categories callers are listening to at any given time. I've found that the blind and visually impaired people who call in understand this system better than I do sometimes. In other words, many of them will find categories more quickly and easily than other callers." Ancell says producing braille directories for Info-Tel, the newspaper's voice information system, was inexpensive. "I think we paid about $8.70 per dozen for those," he says. "Our braille directory is in its second printing," says Nancy Tracewell, director of Electronic Media at "The Kansas City Star" in Kansas City, Mo. "We've also provided taped copies of the directory to a variety of libraries and organizations for the blind in this area." Tracewell says blind computer users in Kansas City will soon be able to sign up for the paper's on-line computer service, slated to be in operation by the end of the year. "We're talking to blind people in this area to make sure the information we offer and the interface will be accessible to them," she says. Tracewell oversees StarTouch, the paper's voice information line. "We did two printings of a braille directory of our categories," says Sean Breen, audiotex manager for "The Miami Herald." "Those directories were so popular we even gave away the one copy we had in the office." TeleHerald, Miami's voice information service, requires callers to enter an access code which changes daily and is printed in the paper. Breen says the paper established a universal code and worked closely with the radio reading service in the area to publicize the code to blind and partially sighted listeners. "I'd say I use the TeleHerald service daily," says ACB First Vice President Paul Edwards. "It offers everything from recipes to games to national and international news. It's really the only convenient way I can get at least a brief look at what's on TV on a given day." Of the select number of voice information services "The Braille Forum" tested, TeleHerald ranked high in terms of its variety and user friendliness. Post Haste, the voice information service offered by "The Washington Post," was by far the most unfriendly and unforgiving of the systems. With Post Haste, you're lucky to hear three categories before the system disconnects you. If you inadvertently enter an invalid category number, the system still counts it as one of the two or three you get to hear before you're disconnected. Much of the material offered by the various voice information services is similar. Miami's Sean Breen says many of the categories are distributed by media syndicates via satellite. Virtually every audiotex manager interviewed agreed that callers are most interested in stock quotes. Sports scores run a close second. While the information is similar, each service "The Braille Forum" tested offered its own very unique flavor. Miami's TeleHerald runs advertisements promoting the newspaper. "The Joplin Globe," on the other hand, runs ads from local businesses. Once one of those commercials start, you can't jump to another category. Kevin Ancell says that's just the way he wants it. "Since we're selling time on Info-Tel," he says, "we want to make sure our callers have the opportunity to hear the advertisements." There's an excellent chance that your local phone company will soon be providing voice and computer-based services. In the meantime, check with your local paper to see if it offers such services. If it's practical for your ACB affiliate to do so, you may wish to provide your newspaper with some ideas on how to get directories brailled or taped for its voice information lines. Local television stations in some communities may also sponsor free- to-caller voice information lines. Newspapers offering braille directories include: The CityLine, sponsored by the "South Bend Tribune" in South Bend, In., (219) 674-0900; the Chronicle CityLine, a service of "The San Francisco Chronicle," (415) 512-5000; Info-Tel, sponsored by "The Joplin Globe," (417) 782-2700; INFOLINE, sponsored by "The Columbian" in Vancouver, Wash., (206) 699-6000; and StarTouch, a service of the "Kansas City Star," (816) 889-7827. While Miami's TeleHerald no longer offers braille directories, its sheer variety and presentation style make it a must-call. (305) 373-4636. ACB BOARD PREPARES FOR CONVENTION PHOENIX - The Board of Directors of the American Council of the Blind made several decisions in preparation for the upcoming national convention here at its midyear meeting in January. In a unanimous decision, the Board agreed to hear reports from the Environmental Access Committee on the accessibility of the two Phoenix convention hotels. The Board also authorized the American Council of the Blind to open a bank account in Phoenix for national convention deposits. The Board also approved a balanced budget for 1992 which, among other things, increases the publication schedule for "The Braille Forum" from six to nine issues per year and provides travel reimbursement for members of the Board of Publications. Other actions included an amendment to a proposed change to Convention Guideline 10-C to add that candidates could not distribute campaign literature at the Convention Information Desk or the Convention Office, and a denial of the Education and Legal Defense Fund's request to hold a fund-raising event on Sunday night during the convention. The Board also accepted the Convention Committee's recommendation that a proposed change in the scheduling of special interest affiliate meetings during convention week be postponed until the fall ACB Board Meeting. Board members also passed three motions concerning accreditation. They voted unanimously to notify the United States Department of Education that ACB supports the recertification of the National Accreditation Council of Agencies Serving the Blind and Visually Handicapped. Board Member Durward McDaniel moved that the ACB President encourage representatives of both accredited and non-accredited agencies to attend an upcoming summit on accreditation. Another motion authorized the deferral of this summit until after a post- convention board meeting. Several motions concerning the budget were passed during the meeting. One action added $2000 to the proposed 1992 budget for professional fees under the pilot program for legal advice. Another decision gave ACB financial support for its pending litigation with the Department of Defense. Acting on a motion passed during the September 1991 meeting, the Board authorized an expenditure of up to $1,500 for a class action suit against the Atlanta rail transit system. The Board recommended that ACB participate in the Joint Organizational Effort Committee, a consortium of agencies and organizations in the blindness field which includes the National Federation of the Blind, and also work towards a future JOE meeting hosted by ACB. In addition, the Board advised that ACB ask JOE to invite the Affiliated Leadership League, National Industries for the Blind, and the National Accreditation Council to become members. As a follow-up to the announced trip to Russia, the Board authorized ACB President LeRoy Saunders to select individuals from each of the following categories to participate: one staff member; one ACB member; one ACB board member; one state affiliate president; and one special interest affiliate president. In other actions, the Board approved a recommendation by the Environmental Access Committee to notify the Federal Transit Administration that the products the FTA accepts should meet standards specified by the Americans With Disabilities Act. The Board also passed a motion to notify the Department of Transportation that no para-transit plan inaccessible to blind people should be approved. Also passed was a motion to notify the Committee for the Purchase from the Blind and Other Severely Handicapped that ACB opposes any name change that eliminates the words "blind" and "other." First Vice President Paul Edwards moved that the Washington office, when appropriate, should be authorized to express total opposition to any attempt to suspend the implementation of regulations related to the ADA. Another motion by Edwards requested the national office to send a letter of commendation to the General Accounting Office concerning its recent surveys. The Board also voted to go on record as opposing the Rehabilitation Services Administration's requirement that the policy- making boards of separate state agencies for the blind be advisory boards only. Another action recommended that the ACB President write a letter to the Secretary of the South Dakota Department of Human Services requesting his support for a bill extending the federal Randolph-Sheppard Act priority to state and local government buildings. Following a motion by Second Vice President Charles Hodge, the Board voted to suspend the charter of the International Friendly Circle for the Blind. Finally, the Board passed a motion by Edwards to inquire of Frank Kurt Cylke, director of the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, why "Walking Alone and Marching Together," a self-published history of the National Federation of the Blind, has been produced in alternative formats by the National Library Service despite Cylke's usual position opposing the production by NLS of vanity press books. BLINDNESS DOESN'T STOP HER FROM DIRECTING DRIVERS by Nolan Crabb Spend a minute or so on the phone with Melinda Goff, and you get the impression that she's much too friendly to tell anyone where to go or where to get off. But that's exactly what she does every day, and thousands of drivers in Columbia, S.C., take her advice. A totally blind "Braille Forum" reader, Goff is a traffic reporter for eight radio stations in Columbia. She either goes on air with the reports herself, or gathers the information and provides it to her boyfriend, also totally blind, to read on the air. "I started this job two years ago," she says, "at the suggestion of an employment consultant from the South Carolina Commission for the Blind." Goff says the Charleston-based company she works for was looking for someone in Columbia to do traffic reports for stations in that area. Ed Bible, the employment consultant who alerted Goff to the position, agreed the placement was unique. He gave Goff credit for following through. "When I gave her the information," Bible says, "she made the necessary calls immediately. She deserves a lot of credit for following through with this." "I wouldn't say I had a lot of initial resistance when I applied for the job," Goff recalls. "I left a message on the company's answering machine. The man called me back, explaining that he rarely listens to that machine, but decided to on that particular day. He asked if I was still interested, and a few days later he showed up with a police scanner." Goff says she wanted a job that would allow her to communicate with people. Prior to moving to Columbia, she had worked as the assistant to the director for a community art agency. "It's a different way of communicating with people than I had originally thought about doing," she says, "While I know I'm never going to get rich doing this, I get to talk to a lot of people and I'd like to think I'm making some driver's day a little better." Goff says her day usually starts just before 6:00 a.m. "I turn on the coffee and the scanner at just about the same time." She checks a local talk station for any weather problems that might affect the kind of traffic reports she will write that morning. She then makes calls to two railroad yards and several police dispatchers to get information. Although the company for which she works is called Eagle Skywatch, Goff says she doesn't even have to ride in a helicopter, let alone fly one, to do her job. "I guess people who aren't familiar with Columbia might wonder why I need to call railroad yards," she says. "It's not uncommon for several trains to be in the middle of town that early in the morning. You might have an accident somewhere which means calling the public relations office at the highway patrol to get information on alternate routes they'd like people to use." Goff says those daily calls pay off in a variety of ways. She recalls an incident where she got the jump on a television news crew. "I remember the first day I started, there was a fire close to a major traffic artery. I got the information I needed over the phone, relayed it to the stations in our area, and watched the evening news later that night. As it turned out, I provided our listeners with more information than the evening news people. I've learned that if you know the kind of questions to ask, you can get all the information you need over the phone." Employment consultant Ed Bible attributes Goff's success as a traffic reporter to excellent phone and braille skills. He says she's currently enrolled in a computer class, and he hopes to train her in the use of additional adaptive equipment. But for now, Goff says a telephone and braillewriter are the only equipment she needs. She says while some aspects of the job are predictable, it has its advantages. "True, it's mornings and afternoons, but I don't have to leave the house, and I get a chance to work with people in the radio industry, which is fascinating. There are always challenges associated with the job. There's one interstate that's backed up all day. The trains aren't always on time, so you have to keep calling them back to get the latest information. "This job has made me appreciate what law enforcement people have to go through to keep things going smoothly," she says. "Maybe it sounds funny, but I actually appreciate geography now more than I ever did before. If you don't drive, you don't pay attention to that sort of thing. This job has forced me to take an interest in the city from a geographic standpoint." Goff says she tailors her reports to the various stations. "On the religious stations," she explains, "you have to sound friendly and cheerful, but be very professional. On the black urban station, you can let your personality show through more. In fact, you're encouraged to talk to the on-air personality." Goff only pauses for a moment as she contemplates whether she would recommend a traffic reporter job to other blind people. "Absolutely," she says enthusiastically. "It's part-time work, and you won't get rich, but let's face it--there are a lot of blind people out there who are interested in working in radio. If you can take constructive criticism, if you can sharpen your writing skills and your information- gathering skills, then this is for you. You just have to approach it with the idea that it won't necessarily lead to a high-paying job in radio. If you can approach it in that light, then I think it's definitely worth doing." Goff says she's glad she made that initial phone call to Eagle Skywatch in Charleston. Chances are, a lot of commuters in Columbia are glad, too. ARE YOU READY FOR SOME BOWLING IN YOUR BASEMENT? by Nolan Crabb When you think about bowling, you probably think about making the trip to the alley, paying your money, and bowling a few games with some close friends. But Jim Stanford wants to change all that. In fact, if he has his way, he'll put bowling on the fast lane from the alley to your house. Stanford, a partially sighted Jacksonville, Fla., man, built an indoor bowling table and has licensed the manufacturing rights to a major gaming table builder. But as Stanford explains, his is a table with a twist. "there are a lot of bowling tables out there," he says, "but my design is different. My tables can easily be used by blind and partially sighted people. It can also be adjusted so that your bowling game is never the same or never played the same way." Stanford says the legs and surface of his table can be adjusted so the ball behaves differently each time the table's sides are altered. the table is designed to allow blind and visually impaired players to easily keep track of their score. "I figured there was a need for a table which could be used by blind and partially sighted people," Stanford says. "The nice thing about this table is that it can be used by virtually everyone in the family regardless of the amount of vision they have." That kind of flexibility is the major selling point for Stanford's table. The table is being purchased by agencies interested in recreational opportunities for blind people and by businesses specializing in games and recreation. "one of the things that sets my table apart from others is that the foul line can be easily marked for players who are blind," Stanford explains. "I wanted to design a table which would give every player an equal opportunity to play competitively." Stanford says he did most of the construction of the original prototype of his table at his home workshop. "Once I got started with construction," he says, "My wife spent a lot of time wondering if she'd ever see me again." According to Stanford, his bowling table can also convert to a shuffleboard table. "It comes with a shuffleboard top," he explains, "which slides over the bowling table." Stanford's Mini-Bowl table is currently being manufactured by Play Master-Renaissance. A small version of the table is currently being designed, according to information from Stanford. "Jim brought the table to our organization," says Becky Simpson, project coordinator for Independent Living for Adult Blind in Jacksonville, Fla., "and the students thoroughly enjoyed it." Simpson says students in her group were able to bowl successfully, despite a variety of differences in their skill level. "I could see this table being used by blind people, partially sighted people, wheelchair users, and of course, sighted people," she says. "In fact, Jim brought the table to our campus twice--once to demonstrate it to the adult blind participants and again to set it up in the activities center for everyone on campus to play." She said when Stanford demonstrated the table to sighted administrators at the community college in Jacksonville, many of them decided to try the game both ways. "At first they were reluctant to play at all," she says. "Then, once they realized how fun the game is regardless of how much vision you have, they decided to close their eyes and play. I think the reaction Jim got that day was very positive." I knew long before we tested the table in other areas that it would be a hit," Stanford explains. "As you might guess, I tried it out on my own family, and they loved it." He says many businesses have expressed an interest in the table. "We've taken this to some trade shows," he explains, "and we've never failed to generate interest." Stanford says Master Play-Renaissance began manufacturing the table late last year. For more information, contact Jim Stanford, 2915 Anniston Rd., Jacksonville, FL 32216. AFFILIATE NEWS The Missouri Council of the Blind will hold its annual convention on October 22-25 (Thursday through Sunday) at the Holiday Inn Convention Center in Cape Girardeau. The room rates will be $49.00, plus tax, for one to four persons per night. The New Jersey Council of the Blind's convention theme is "Information and Resources." The convention will be held on October 24 and 25 (Saturday and Sunday) at the Ramada Inn/Renaissance, 3050 Woodbridge Ave., Edison, NJ 08837, Tel. (908) 499-2000. The room rates are $49.00 per night for one to four persons. To make reservations, call Directions Unlimited at (800) 533-5343 and ask for Lois Bonanni. The Randolph Sheppard Vendors of America's convention will be held July 4-7 in Phoenix, Ariz. As with the national convention, the two hotels will be the Hyatt Regency, (800) 233-1234, and the Omni, (602) 257-1525. Room rates are $45.00 per night. Omni room rates are $40 per night. Mississippi Council of the Blind member Louis Batson was recently named a runner- up for the 1992 National Blind Worker of the Year, according to the Spring 1992 edition of "Opportunity," the newsletter of National Industries for the Blind. Batson is employed at the Royal Maid Association for the Blind in Hazlehurst. Want to spruce up your newsletter or writing skills? Attend the editors' workshop at 2 p.m. on Thursday, July 9 at the National Convention. Featured speakers include Sue Ammeter, president of the Washington Council of the Blind; Nolan Crabb, editor of "The Braille Forum;" and Debbie Kendrick, editor of "Tactic." This workshop is coordinated by Board of Publications members Dana Walker and Carol McCarl. There will be advice on gathering news, publishing in three media, avoiding libel and copyright problems, editing with and without a computer, and doing it all with style. SALT LAKE CITY - Members of the Utah Council of the Blind met here in early May for their annual convention, focusing this year on "An Eye to the Future." Throughout its two-day convention, the Utah Council heard from a comprehensive array of speakers which included everyone from an astronaut to a zoo keeper. "Braille Forum" Editor Nolan Crabb addressed the convention, reminding attendees of the value of teamwork between state affiliates and the national office. In a banquet speech, Crabb encouraged UCB members to actively shape their future, rather than merely allowing circumstances to control them. Council members heard from representatives of the Social Security Administration, the Internal Revenue Service, and the state tax commission. Other guest speakers included a Salt Lake City businessman who does home grocery delivery, a representative from a guide dog school in California, an expert on the Americans with Disabilities Act from the Governor's Council on Employment of People With Disabilities, and Utah's executive director of the Division of Rehabilitation Services. Evan Liddiard, legislative analyst for Sen. Orrin G. Hatch, R-Utah, told UCB members that Hatch is "frustrated with Congress's tax-and-spend mentality." Liddiard said Hatch is sponsoring legislation which would provide businesses with incentives to donate computer equipment no longer in use to organizations who could use it for training purposes, thereby allowing blind and disabled job seekers to receive training on donated equipment. Panelists from the Division of Services for the Visually Handicapped described the various services the division offers. Division Director William G. Gibson stressed the importance of consumer input if programs are to be effective. Participants also heard from the director of Utah Industries for the Blind, the assistant superintendent of the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind, and from the director of the state library for the blind. Dr. Don Lind, a member of the faculty at Utah State University and an astronaut on a 1985 Challenger shuttle mission, was the final speaker. He described his experiences in space and talked about the future of the space program. "I think the space station is the most logical next step for the space program," he said. "From there, we may well see Americans or Japanese astronauts on Mars." As for the future of the Utah Council, President Jack Wheeler said outreach is a high priority. "People throughout the state need our services," he said. "We're beginning to see real progress in those outlying areas. That's been a dream of mine, and I'm glad to see it coming true." FCC RESPONDS TO ACB RESOLUTION 91-02 At last summer's ACB 30th Annual National Convention in Tampa, Fla., members passed a resolution urging broadcasters to verbally read telephone numbers as well as display them on screen during commercials, public service announcements, and in times of emergency. Edythe Wise, chief of the Complaints and Investigations Branch enforcement division, mass media bureau for the Federal Communications Commission, responded to ACB's resolution. For the convenience of "Braille Forum" readers, we include the full resolution and the FCC response. RESOLUTION 91-02: VERBAL ANNOUNCEMENT OF ONSCREEN INFORMATION "Whereas, television is an important source of news and information for blind and visually impaired persons; and "Whereas, valuable information such as telephone numbers and emergency information is presented on screen without benefit of verbal announcements; and "Whereas, this precludes equal access for blind and visually impaired persons to such valuable information; and "Whereas, the spirit of the Americans With Disabilities Act guarantees such equal access to the communications media; "Now, therefore, be it resolved, by the American Council of the Blind in convention assembled at Tampa, Florida, this 5th day of July, 1991, that this organization urge all major television networks including cable networks, and independent local broadcasters including cable outlets, to announce at appropriate times during commercial and/or public service announcements, all telephone numbers and emergency information which appear on screen; and "Be it further resolved, that the ACB National Representative transmit this resolution to the major networks including cable, as well as to the Federal Communications Commission; and "Be it further resolved, that copies of this resolution be provided to all ACB state affiliates for dissemination to local television outlets." THE FCC RESPONSE "Section 73.1250(h) of the Commission's rules currently provides that when station operations are being conducted under an Emergency Broadcasting System (EBS) plan, emergency information must be transmitted aurally and visually. Emergency information that is broadcast other than under an EBS plan must be presented visually and may also be presented aurally. Accordingly, at the present time, the Commission does not have a requirement for such oral announcements under all circumstances. If you would like to petition the Commission to change its rules along the lines indicated in your resolution, you may file a petition for rulemaking. ... Finally, the Commission has no jurisdiction over programming presented on cable networks. You may want to contact the cable networks themselves or local franchising authorities for assistance in this matter." THIRTY YEARS AGO IN THE "FORUM" By now, readers of "The Braille Forum" should be very familiar with the arrangements for ACB's 31st national convention in Phoenix. Tours, exhibits, and affiliate parties have been part of national convention agendas for several years. By contrast, the July, 1962 convention in St. Louis, Missouri, was a four-day working convention designed to establish a constitution and major policies for the fledgling organization. The convention took place at the Pick Mark Twain Hotel, where room rates ranged from $6.50 for a single room to $13.00 for a two-room suite. It's interesting to note that although hotel rates have increased somewhat over the years, the charter membership fee in 1962 was $5.00-- exactly what membership at large still costs today. During the convention, approximately 100 people heard from representatives of the National Rehabilitation Association, the American Foundation for the Blind, the American Association of Instructors of the Blind, the American Association of Workers for the Blind, and the Blinded Veterans Association. The banquet speaker was John I. Rollings, the president of the Missouri State Labor Council of the AFL-CIO. The membership also adopted a constitution and six by-laws for ACB. 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, it 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. TOLL-FREE ANSWERS Questions regarding Social Security or any aspect of the Social Security program may be directed to the Social Security Administration's toll-free number (800) 234-5772. DRIVING MISS DOGGIE A man who claims to be legally blind has been convicted of driving alone in a freeway car pool lane, despite his assertion that his guide dog is a passenger, according to a report in "The Blind Californian." People in Judge John Pasco's courtroom said it was hard to tell whether the judge was more disturbed by the assertion or by Sherman Hill's driving, dog or no dog. Hill told the judge he was blind in his left eye and partially blind in the right. He said his dog Queenie sits on his lap and barks when there is a car in front of his. Pasco, a Santa Clara County municipal judge, ruled that the dog is not a person and therefore could not count as a passenger under the state's vehicle code. Hill was fined $115. Pasco was also assured that Hill's license had been suspended at the time of the arrest. GUIDE DOG JOKES Not every guide dog user constantly jokes about his/her guide dog, but John Sellitti makes a career of it, according to a report from the Newhouse News Service. The 25-year-old comedian has entertained audiences at comedy clubs from New York to Los Angeles for several years. He draws on his blindness for his jokes and incorporates his guide dog into the act. TIN CAN HOCKEY Sonorous Hockey is an adaptation of ice hockey played by people with limited visual capacity. According to "Focus," the newsletter for the ACB of Indiana, the game has been played in Quebec since 1978. The puck is replaced by a 48-ounce black tin can. For more information, contact Gilles Marcois, 382, #2 Leme Quebec, Canada G1l 2T5. EDUCATORS TO MEET The International Council for Education of the Visually Handicapped will hold its ninth quinquennial conference from July 26 to August 5, 1992 in Bangkok, Thailand. "Working Together in the Decade of the 90's: Strategies to Advance Equal Opportunities for Children and Youth with Visual Handicaps" is the conference theme. The conference will bring together blind and sighted professionals interested in enhancing educational opportunities and improving rehabilitation services worldwide for children and youth. For information, contact Dr. Susan Spungin, American Foundation for the Blind, 15 W. 16th St., New York, NY 10011. RECYCLE EQUIPMENT The Overseas Blind Foundation accepts used magazines, broken canes, Perkins Braillewriters, slates and styluses, and braille watches. Send items to Overseas Blind Foundation, 5053 Morocco Ave., Santa Rosa, CA 95405. Tel. (707) 539-6594. NAME CHANGE The Clovernook Home and School for the Blind in Cincinnati has changed its name to the Clovernook Center for the Blind. According to Executive Director Gerald Mundy, the new name more accurately reflects the changing focus of the former retirement facility for blind women to that of the agency's present purpose--offering rehabilitation services to blind people. DRESS THE DOG A British company is offering coats for guide dogs, according to "The BVA Bulletin," the newsletter of the Blinded Veterans Association. Priced between $40 and $45, the coats are made of a waxed cotton waterproof material; all coats are fully lined. Made to measure and rush orders are available. Contact Woof N Ready, Ltd., 3 Poplar Row, Aberystwyth, Dyfed, Wales. SIGNS FOR DOGS Signs for guide dog harnesses are now available. The signs read, "ignore me. I'm on duty." They're made of a lightweight waterproof material for $10 each. Contact Womyn's Braille Press, P.O. Box 8475, Minneapolis, MN 55408. MOBILITY FOUNDATION Guiding Light for the Blind has recently been established to provide or assist in providing electronic mobility devices for people who are blind, deaf-blind or visually impaired. It will also support the education of mobility instructors who provide training to recipients of electronic mobility devices. The company receives support from Associated Services for the Blind and from the general public. Contact Jim Swen, Executive Director, Guiding Light for the Blind, Nevil Building., 919 Walnut St., Philadelphia, PA 19107. INFORMATION MANAGER A new information management software package designed for blind and visually impaired users is available from ARTS Computer Products. ARTS Info is an integrated word processor, database, and accounting program, according to "VIISI News" 1991-03. The program can print correctly formatted letters, print labels for envelopes, and sort addresses on a variety of fields for bulk mailing purposes. For more information, contact ARTS Computer Products, 121 Beach St., Suite 400, Boston, MA 02111-2501. Tel. (800) 343-0095. DVS DECODERS Those interested in hearing audio descriptions of visual events occurring on certain television programs broadcast on some public broadcasting channels may do so with a series of new decoders available from SMC, according to "VIISI News" 1991-03. A variety of decoders are available. Most include amplifiers and speakers. One decoder is designed to work with cable TV converter boxes. If your television is already equipped to receive the Secondary Audio Program channel, no decoder is needed. This capability usually exists only on stereo television sets. For more information about the decoders and their prices, contact SMC International, Inc., 2505 N. 24th St., Suite 501, Omaha, NE 68110. Tel. (800) 456-9107 or (402) 453-0332. HOME VIDEO CATALOGUE IF you own a VCR and have been waiting for the opportunity to watch movies where visual events are verbally described, you need wait no longer, according to an announcement from Descriptive Video Service, a division of WGBH-TV in Boston. DVS now sells 10 movies which include audio descriptions of visual events. Movies include comedies, family classics, and action adventure films. For a large print catalogue, write DVS Home Video, P.O. Box 64428, St. Paul, MN 55164. Tel. (800) 736-3099 Ext. 31. NEW FROM MAXIAIDS MaxiAids announces the availability of new portable four-track tape players and recorders, new talking watches and clocks, and multi-lingual talking calculators. For more information, contact MaxiAids, 86-30 102nd St., Richmond Hill, NY 11418. SIGNS FOR THE TIMES With the passage of the Americans With Disabilities Act comes a growing interest in obtaining large print and braille elevator signs. One manufacturer of braille and large print elevator signs is Truxes. The company also provides room number signs. Large print elevator signs come in three character sizes. For additional information, contact Truxes, P.O. Box 265, Oswego, IL 60543. Tel. (708) 554-8448. MORE SIGNS AcuBraille manufactures permanent signs for use in office buildings, restaurants, bank automatic teller machines, and similar locations. The signs can be both braille and raised print. For more information, contact AcuBraille, 30 Cleveland St., San Francisco, CA 94103. THINK BIG WITH APH The American Printing House for the Blind can turn regular print documents into large print ones. According to an announcement in "The Blind Californian," the newsletter of the California Council of the Blind. APH offers a special service for the custom production of large print materials. You provide regular printed information, and the printing house enlarges and binds your large print document. A Free sample enlargement can be provided for your approval. Prices are based on the number of pages to be enlarged. For a free estimate, contact the Large Print Department, American Printing House for the Blind, 1839 Frankfort Ave., Louisville, KY 40206. A $45 BRAILLEWRITER? The National Braille Association has added an old favorite to its jewelry selection. It now offers gold-filled pins and charms in the style of a Perkins Braillewriter. Each costs $45. Contact National Braille Association, 1290 University Ave., Rochester, NY 14607. HE SHOOTS WHEN THEY CHEW Michael Gates of Port Huron, Mich., is so good with a bow and arrow he doesn't need to see his target, according to an Associated Press story. Gates couldn't see the target even if he needed to; he lost his sight in a hunting accident more than two years ago. Gates lures deer to a previously-marked spot with carrots, corn, and mangos. Once they start chomping, he starts shooting. He claims to be able to throw an arrow in the same spot 48 of 50 times. That kind of accuracy recently paid off when he bagged his first deer since the accident. Convincing the Michigan Department of Resources that he could hunt safely and successfully after his accident wasn't easy, but he did it. HE SHOOTS PEOPLE Although Nazih Rezk hasn't seen for more than 15 years, he is an avid photographer whose work has been exhibited at the University of California Los Angeles, Cornell University, and other museums and art shows, according to a story in the "Fort Worth Star-Telegram." He determines his distance between him and his subjects by listening to their voices or breathing. He says he relies on his sense of smell as well. He focuses his 35- millimeter camera using braille lens markings. He gauges the amount of light by the feel of the sun and by its location. TOUR WITH A TWIst The guided tour of bustling midtown Manhattan included a little history, a little architecture, a little advice about restaurants, and shopping. Only this time, according to an Associated Press story, most of the walkers were blind. Guide Justin Ferate pointed out the aromas of a pizzeria and a bakery, the breezes from the East River, and the sound of water splashing in a pool. The walk was arranged by the Grand Central Partnership, a neighborhood organization that offers tours to employees of businesses who have recently located to the area. Members of the tour were employees, students, and volunteers at the New York Lighthouse for the Blind which moved into the area recently. Ferate has given three tours to about 100 people from the lighthouse. He called the tour "a sort of a challenge." GOOD OL' COUNTRY SOAP Country Entertainer Ronnie Millsap appeared recently on NBC-TV's soap opera "Another World," but he didn't have to get into character, according to an Associated Press story. The blind country singer played himself in a scenario that placed him at a Chicago nightclub where he performed "Since I Don't Have You." Millsap said he enjoyed working with the soap opera stars. BRAILLE POOL BALLS Balls for playing Pool, billiards, and Snooker with holes drilled in them to signify color are now available. The company also offers rules for a game called Pot Ball, which allows for movement of the balls for tactile identification. For more information, contact Eye Balls, 23 Seber Ave., Worchester, WR5 2HH England. CALENDARS The Cleveland Sight Center now offers a calendar measuring 17-1/2 by 23 inches with bold black lettering on a white background. Each calendar day has plenty of space to write your appointments with the bold tip pen which is included. To order send $12.50 to the Cleveland Sight Center, 1909 E. 101st St., Cleveland, OH 44106. HELP FOR CHAIR USERS Nurion Industries has announced the availability of Wheelchair Pathfinder, a device that provides auditory warning of upcoming objects and steps. Designed for blind wheelchair users, the device can be mounted on wheelchairs, walkers, and scooters. The Wheelchair Pathfinder utilizes ultrasonic and laser technology. The Wheelchair Pathfinder has been approved for use by the Veterans Administration. For more information, contact Nurion Industries, Station Square Three, Paoli, PA 19301. CABLE TV GUIDE Price and Price Enterprises is interested in determining how many blind cable TV viewers would subscribe to an accessible cable TV guide. Estimated subscription cost would be $40 annually. If there is enough interest, the guide would begin publication later this year. If you would like to see such a guide at the above-mentioned subscription price, contact Price and Price Enterprises, 107 Cloverwood Ct., Baltimore, MD 21221. PCEPD MOVES The President's Committee on Employment of People With Disabilities has a new address. The committee may be contacted at 1331 F St., N.W., Washington, DC 20004-1107. Tel. (202) 376-6200. The committee provides information, training, and technical assistance to business and labor leaders, service providers, advocacy groups,families, and individuals with disabilities. TAKE IN A PLAY If you're ever in Sarasota, Fla., and you want to take in a play which includes audio description, you might consider the Asolo Center for the Performing Arts. Audio description performances are available on a seasonal basis or single shows. A visually impaired person may bring a companion to an audio described performance at no charge. The blind or visually impaired person must purchase his/her own ticket. For schedules and additional information, contact the center at 5555 Tamiami Trail, Sarasota, FL 34243. Tel. (813) 351-9010. AFFILIATE PROFILE: FRIENDS IN ART: BUILDING BRIDGES by Don Simpson The relationship between artists and western society has not been an easy one. Occasionally, a culture has seen its leaders as visionaries, whose judgments and admonitions were to be heeded, and has entrusted them with great power. For a time, the Irish afforded their bards or writers such treatment. Other times, society has placed artists at the opposite end of the spectrum, seeing them as dissidents, shiftless outcasts, and a general threat to the status quo. Most of the time, though, society has relegated artists to a position somewhere in the middle-- good to have around but better kept somewhere on the outskirts. Artists, in turn, have tended to distance themselves from the mainstream, partly out of anger and partly out of the need to protect their own identity. As we blind people know, this is not much different from what any "outsider" group might do in the face of being resisted or made to feel unwelcome by the majority. All of this has exacted a great toll, both on the artists and on the society. In a strange kind of backlash, it has forced some people to think that they had to choose between being an artist and being a member of the mainstream. It has made creativity into some kind of rare gift, reserved only for an elite. It has also strained relationships among artists, generating competition and mistrust where cooperation could have been. Friends in Art is an ACB affiliate which believes that art and creativity belong to everyone. It encourages and invites your participation whether you currently see yourself as an artist or not. If you have any interest in creativity or any appreciation of the arts, you qualify for membership. FIA also believes that museums belong to everyone. Accordingly, one of its major campaigns has been to educate docents and curators so that they will make their sculpture and other tactile exhibits accessible to visually impaired people. Friends in Art is just what its name states. It seeks to build friendships between blind artists and enthusiasts. It promotes better working conditions for artists and greater appreciation of their contribution to society. It works for greater understanding between the blind and sighted communities. Friends in Art is a builder of bridges. It is no accident, then, that FIA's newsletter is called "The Log of the Bridgetender." If you would like to build bridges, come to Phoenix and join us for our national convention which is held in conjunction with ACB's national convention, July 4th through 11th. We will be sponsoring our traditional mixer, our FIA Showcase (a veritable feast of talent and entertainment), trips to local museums, and a special seminar on technology and music. We'd love to have you! For more information about FIA, write to Janiece Petersen, President, 1629 Columbia Rd., NW, Washington, DC 20009. To join, send a check for $12.00 to Jean Dorf, Treasurer, 8815 Woodland Dr., Silver Spring, MD 20910. HIGH TECH SWAP SHOP FOR SALE: VersaPoint Braille Embosser, which produces braille at 40 characters per second and can operate as either a serial or parallel printer. It features easy-to-use configuration menus and graphics capability. Excellent condition. $2,550. An additional $300 should be included if purchaser wants one-year extended warranty. Also available, Sounding Board LT Voice Synthesizer compatible with the Toshiba T1100, T1200, and T1600 computers. It's in perfect working order, $200. Contact Soon Kyu Shin, (617) 225-9571. FOR SALE: Diconix 150 portable inkjet printer, includes carrying case and stand, also includes manuals and AC adapter. Comes with two new ink cartridges and a half case of inkjet printer paper. Excellent condition. $300 or best offer. Contact Margie Donovan, (415) 961-1880 evenings. FOR SALE: VersaBraille II with dual disk drives, Duxbury translation software, includes all cables and braille manuals. $1,500 or best offer. Contact Joe Renzi, Reading Technology, 9269 Mission Gorge Rd., Suite 108, Santee, CA 92071. Tel. (619) 491-2142. FOR SALE: Optacon R1-D in good condition. Contact Larry Evans by calling (314) 449-9999. WANTED TO BUY: Fred Jones, (314) 449-9999, would like to buy an RC Smith braillewriter. ACB OFFICERS PRESIDENT LEROY SAUNDERS P.O. BOX 24020 OKLAHOMA CITY, OK 73124 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 DR. #302 INDIANAPOLIS, IN 46220-5443 TREASURER BRIAN CHARLSON 57 GRANDVIEW AVENUE WATERTOWN, MA 02172 CONTRIBUTING EDITOR ELIZABETH M. LENNON