THE Braille Forum Vol. XXXI July/August 1992 No. 1 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 News Briefs From the ACB National Office President's Committee Hosts National Conference America's Disability Channel: Television as Power Maryland's Braille Bill, the Law of the State She's A Library Access Pioneer Legal Access: Americans With Disabilities Act: Myths Vs. Realities Silence May Be Golden, But She Gets Paid to Talk Is There A Cost to Civil Rights? Some Essential Nonsense About Dollars and Sense Taking A Look At Vocal-Eyes Thirty Years Ago In The Forum In Defense of Goldbrickers Affiliate Profile: American Council of Blind Lions Here and There High Tech Swap Shop NEWSBRIEFS FROM THE ACB NATIONAL OFFICE by Oral O. Miller, National Representative In case you haven't heard, there is definitely something brewing concerning telecommunications services and equipment of the future. In recent weeks, ACB staff members have been interviewed by several different consultants (representing unnamed clients) concerning the preferences of blind people about such subjects as the usage of cable TV services, types of additional information that should be made available by push-button telephone and who should pay for which services. In addition to reading the articles which appear in "The Braille Forum" from time to time on the subject of telecommunications, readers should make it their business to stay abreast of all the present and proposed services of their telephone companies, cable TV companies and other businesses that are interested in providing or getting information electronically. The world is changing fast and the word "telecommunications" no longer means simple telephone service. Commendations to Recording for the Blind for discussing truly meaningful subjects with its Consumers Advisory Council-- and hopefully, listening to the input therefrom! More specifically, at the recent meeting which it was my pleasure to attend, the Council gave considerable attention to RFB's continuing interest in monitoring and improving the quality of its recorded books, the possible changing of its name (57% of the people utilizing its service are not blind), its sale of the Talkman tape player, its decision to produce recorded materials under contract with third parties (such as the production of the EEOC Technical Assistance Manual for Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act), its plan to add a 10,000 square foot addition to its headquarters building in Princeton, the increased costs of greatly expanded services, its policies concerning registration fees, the expansion of its E-Text (computerized book) library, and the technical possibility of including both speech and text on one compact disc. It was decided that the Advisory Council will be expanded to thirteen people representing the various age groups, disabilities and educational levels of the people being served. Dr. Peter Putnam, chairman of the Council for the past several years, stepped down and was replaced by Craig Michaels, who is with the National Center for Disability Services. Recently it was my pleasure to speak about the future of services for blind people as a panelist at the annual meeting of the National Council of State Agencies for the Blind. While speaking more closely on the assigned subject than did some of my fellow panelists, I outlined several of the improvements which the American Council of the Blind believes should be made in the rehabilitation delivery service system. I received the impression that a few of the listeners did not want to hear our message, preferring instead to dismiss our recommendations as "negative" and to concentrate on a few platitudinous statements concerning cooperation between consumers and providers. In a future article, I plan to summarize the recommendations I outlined, which for the most part have been formulated by the task force that was created by ACB National Convention Resolution 91-20 concerning the reauthorization of the Rehabilitation Act. I suppose some people will always prefer to shoot the messenger rather than listen to his message. Once upon a time, few ACB affiliates held their state conventions in the spring, but that tendency has definitely changed in recent years. Within the past month, for example, ACB staff members participated in five state affiliate conventions. During May, Paul Schroeder spoke on the programs of the Bay State Council of the Blind in Boston, the Louisiana Council of the Blind in Monroe, and the California Council of the Blind in Sacramento. Nolan Crabb spoke to the Utah Council of the Blind, and I had the pleasure of speaking to the ACB of Colorado in Denver. All of us were treated to outstanding hospitality, excellent programs and spirited discussions on resolutions. The 1992 meeting in Washington of the President's Committee on the Employment of People with Disabilities, attended at various times by several different ACB national office staff members, featured a wide variety of training and informational workshops focusing on the implications of the ADA. This conference could be described as a veritable intellectual smorgasbord, making the attendees wish they could be in several different workshops at the same time. The national meeting of the President's Committee now takes place in Washington every other year, so readers of "The Braille Forum" should make an effort to attend whenever it is in their region. In recent years, it has met in Tampa, Dallas and Denver. PRESIDENT'S COMMITTEE HOSTS NATIONAL CONFERENCE by Nolan Crabb and Nicole Willson WASHINGTON - The President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities hosted its annual conference here in early May. According to a PCEPD spokesperson, more than 3,500 people attended the three-day conference. A large number of the conference's concurrent workshop sessions focused on the Americans with Disabilities Act and its implementation. Still other sessions dealt with low-tech solutions to problems on the job, an update on the Technology Act and the Job Accommodation Network. Labor Secretary Lynn Martin addressed the opening session of the conference. "Ability means nothing without opportunity," she told her audience. "The labor force is projected to grow at the slow rate. That means more women, more minorities, more people with disabilities will be seeking jobs." She said the slow labor force growth and the fierce competition for jobs means that disabled Americans will have to get the best training they can, and that the business community can't afford to overlook the valuable labor resources embodied by disabled Americans. Martin criticized those training organizations and institutions which "take federal subsidies without providing training and without helping people find jobs." She wants to expand the Projects With Industries programs in all the states. "Projects With Industry Councils are in the best position to judge the type of training needed and what institutions could best deliver that training," she explained. PCEPD Chairman Justin Dart told conferees it is essential that the ADA be fully implemented. He again congratulated those who continue to work toward that full implementation, and warned that the nation's social and economic problems "increasingly limit the potential of all its people." He said such problems "can't be solved with quick fix solutions, wishful optimism or by electing leaders who read polls and tell us what we want to hear." Dart said the nation must "stop arguing about labels that no longer have relevance and work together to save the American dream." He said the ADA is "still under attack," and called upon his audience to get the necessary training to help implement the law in their communities. He expressed the hope that the law can be implemented "with minimal litigation and expense and maximum profit and employment." He called for equitable health care and urged Congress to substantially fund the rehabilitation program. He also called for the establishment of an affordable, accessible fiber optic telecommunications system. He urged members of the disability community to unite and work together more closely than ever. "If we do not empower ourselves," he warned, "we will remain dependent and poor and America itself will be disabled." In addition to uniting with itself, he encouraged disabled people to form strong partnerships with other minority leaders. "We must support leaders who have supported ADA," he said. Rep Major Owens, D-N.Y., was the concluding speaker for the opening session. He warned of the danger of "gloom and doom" over Washington as reauthorization of the Rehabilitation Act draws closer. "There is a danger that many will want to do less instead of more," he cautioned. He assured his listeners that he is "dedicated to systematically stretching the definition of what it means to make someone employable." Owens urged his audience to "work creatively and constructively, and let us know what your outcome is." CONCURRENT SESSIONS Dr. Gregg C. Vanderheiden, director of the Trace Research and Development Center in Madison, Wis., was a presenter at one of the concurrent sessions of the conference. (See "Getting a Grip on Graphics," March 1992.) He said defining what is an accessible piece of technology is difficult if not impossible. "There's really no such thing as an accessible product," he explained, "because I'll always be able to find someone with a disability who can't use it." In spite of that, Vanderheiden said a great deal can be done to develop an accessible product before it needs modification. He said he works closely with industry to demonstrate that small changes in product design can make a difference. "You wouldn't think that a telephone or any appliance with flat buttons would be a problem," he said, "but if those buttons are concave, if they curve in slightly, someone using a mouth stick has a much more successful experience with those kind of buttons than with flat ones." James Mueller, an industrial designer and author of the book "The Work Place Workbook," encouraged listeners not to overlook so-called low technology solutions to problems. "Magnets and velcro are the things I find myself using every day," he said. Mueller said designers and consumers must work more closely to ensure that products are designed with consumers in mind. "These chairs you're sitting on today are really designed for stacking, not sitting," he said. "Many designers don't know who you and I are. Many of them don't care. But it's our job to make them care. You're the buying consumer, and in the end, you have the most power." Richard Dobbs, director of rehabilitation technologies services of the United Cerebral Palsy Associations of New Jersey, and Northeast Disability and Business Technical Assistance Center in Trenton, N.J., told conferees, "the first thing we look at when doing job accommodations is no technology at all. We ask ourselves, 'can we solve this by moving that desk?' Or 'what's out there commercially that we can hook up?'" He said the next step is to determine what can be done to modify an existing device. "That might include making knobs bigger, maybe even a dot of glue or something on a surface that provides a tactile marker." Dobbs operates five mobile shops in New Jersey. Their purpose is to visit job sites and make recommendations of job modifications for disabled workers. Dobbs said technology for the best job modifications meets three criteria. "It must be easy to obtain, easy to apply, and easy to understand." Dobbs said 80 percent of job accommodations cost less than $1,000. He did not break that down by disability, however, and the number does not include high-end modifications such as talking computers or braille output devices. Author Jim Mueller said some of the best job modification ideas come from the disabled person or a colleague. "We had a legally blind client who had to transfer written information from an insurance form to a computerized form," he explained. "She had to bend down so she was two inches or less away from the written material, hold a flashlight over the copy, memorize the material, move back to her computer, and type it in. We elevated the written material at an angle, put a lighted magnifier on a spring-loaded arm, and created a color-contrasted template which allowed her to more easily see the copy. All that cost about $80." In another concurrent conference session, Jan C. Galvin, Director of the Rehabilitation Engineering Center of the National Rehabilitation Hospital in Washington, D.C., moderated "Getting Specific: Where to Turn for Information." This panel informed attendees of several resource services that provide information about accommodations, devices, and grants available for employees and students. D. J. Hendricks, Assistant Project Manager of the Job Accommodation Network, located in Morgantown, WV, described JAN's various services. JAN assists employers who need information about making their workplaces more accessible to employees with disabilities. JAN is a cross-disability network that provides services throughout the United States and Canada. Although it has an ADA Information line, Hendricks pointed out that JAN has been operating since 1983, well in advance of the signing of the ADA. She stressed that although a call to JAN is toll-free, an even simpler way to learn about making an appropriate modification to an office is to consult with the disabled employee. Frequently, callers who are asked, "Have you spoken with the individual about an accommodation?" admit that they haven't. To further illustrate this point, Hendricks told of a caller who was concerned that a newly-hired deaf employee would not be able to use the phone. The caller had not thought of the possibility that the employee, who had a hearing impairment in only one ear, would know to hold the phone to the unimpaired ear. JAN consultants are frequently able to suggest simple, low-cost accommodations for workers. They can also work with other experts to find solutions for more complicated problems. For example, engineers consulted by JAN developed a towel folder for use by a one-armed hotel employee. JAN also has consultants knowledgeable about ADA regulations and compliance. JAN's toll-free information service can be reached at (800) 526-7234. West Virginia residents should call (800) 526-4698. In Canada, the number is (800) 526-2262. JAN's ADA Information number is (800) 232-9675. The computer bulletin board number is (800) 342-5526. Doris Ray, Project Director of ABLEDATA, discussed the services that ABLEDATA offers to the public. ABLEDATA is an electronic database that catalogues, organizes and disseminates information on work accommodations, home and workplace products, sensory aids, and assistive devices. ABLEDATA also offers a bibliographic index of articles and books about rehabilitation in its database and in the collection of the National Rehabilitation Information Center. Although ABLEDATA's services are generally free, a small fee may be required for an extensive search. Ray also shared information about ABLEDATA's computer bulletin board, which enables anyone with a modem to use the database on their own, incurring only long-distance telephone charges. The database is also available on CD-ROM (Macintosh only) and computer disk. ABLEDATA can be reached at (800) 346-2742. Following Ray's presentation, ACB Board Member Patricia Beattie, Project Associate of the RESNA Technical Assistance Project, explained the many funding sources available for assistive technology. (See "NIDRR Announces Eight New Tech Act Grants, Says Section 508 Applies to Entire State," July-August 1991.) Under Title I of P.L. 100-407, the "Tech Act" of 1988, 31 states have been funded to provide technology-related assistance for persons with disabilities. RESNA-TA provides assistance and information to callers regarding Tech Act funding, state-provided assistive technology, and other pertinent issues. Beattie described sources of assistive technology funding for people in various circumstances. She warned audience members against viewing ADA as a panacea. Employers are expected to provide accommodation, but only if the accommodation is reasonable; as she pointed out, "GM is more able to provide accommodations than the Mom and Pop store down the street." Vocational rehabilitation services can provide assistive technology for people who are in training but not yet employed. Private insurers may cover assistive devices that are considered medically necessary. Beattie also discussed the fact that school districts have an obligation to provide appropriate educational assistive aids such as a CCTV or a braillewriter. She referred to the supposed rule that students cannot take assistive equipment home with them as a "phantom rule;" federal policy states that students who need to use such equipment must be permitted to do so. Furthermore, while the school district may tap into Medicaid to help pay for a student's assistive technology, the district cannot compel a family to provide insurance information. Finally, Beattie stated that Medicaid must pay for and provide "Early and Periodic Screening Diagnosis Treatment" for any at-risk children for whom the screening is required. RESNA-TA can be contacted at (202) 857-1140 for information on the Tech Act project. Callers with other questions should call (202) 857-1199. EXHIBITS While the bulk of the exhibits at the conference was targeted toward wheelchair users, many of the companies who produce access technology equipment for blind and visually impaired people were represented. Early in the conference, "Braille Forum" staff members received a call from a public relations firm representing the Regional Bell Operating Companies, assuring us that if we visited the Bells exhibit, we would see the kinds of technology that would become commonplace if the Bells are ultimately allowed into the information business--technology of specific interest to our readers, we were told. We came away from the booth the next day wondering how the Bells and their public relations representative could be so naive. Indeed, there were some interesting prototypes on display--a personnel scheduler and a program that indexes every word of a book, thereby allowing for quick word searches of material. None of the programs on display were accessible, and the representative at the booth was more than vague about whether plans were in the works to make them accessible. The personnel scheduler called Teacher Reacher, was developed by Bell South and is still in the testing stages. Super Book, the product that gives users the ability to search for all the occurrences of a certain word in a book, was impressive, but not exactly novel as far as I could tell. Organizations as diverse as IBM and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints have been in the computerized book indexing business for years. Perhaps the Bell exhibit wouldn't have been so disappointing if the seven RBOCs hadn't spent so much time and effort assuring us it would be worth visiting. Perhaps the Bells' P.R. representative was more right than she realized when she said the exhibit was an indication of things to come--plenty of information, but none of it accessible. AMERICA'S DISABILITY CHANNEL: TELEVISION AS POWER by Nicole E. Willson In past issues, "The Braille Forum" has covered several different organizations which provide audio-described television programs and films for the blind and visually impaired. On May 26, 1992, participants in the President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities attended the first annual awards ceremony of America's Disability Channel, a cable television channel devoted exclusively to programming by and for people with disabilities. The televised program gave ADC the opportunity to honor individuals and companies involved in promoting positive images of people with disabilities. It also provided its audience with a chance to learn more about ADC. Currently, ADC is carried on basic cable in 37 states, the District of Columbia, and Canada. ADC is on the air for three hours per day, but Scott Senter, Director of Operations for ADC, states that the network's goal is to expand programming to 18 hours per day by the beginning of 1993. ADC has its roots in the Silent Network, a cable network for the deaf which was founded in 1980 in Hollywood. In 1990, the Silent Network moved to San Antonio, Texas and expanded into a channel featuring programming for people with all disabilities. The network still does feature several of the programs originally developed by the Silent Network. Programs featured or being developed for ADC include "The Cutting Edge," a program focusing on national leaders in the disability field; "Destinations Unlimited," a travelogue visiting "accessible" destinations around the world; "ADC Focus," a weekly news magazine focusing on technological and scientific advances; and "Kim's World," in which hostess Kim Powers, who is deaf-blind, shares experiences such as scuba diving and hot-air balloon rides with her audience. ADC also covers events such as the Special Olympics and parts of the 1992 Annual Conference of PCEPD. During the awards banquet, ADC's president and CEO, Dr. Bill Nichols, stressed the importance of television as a means to change public actions and attitudes. Nichols stated that television is "a high-tech tool that must be put in the hands of people with disabilities ... ADC is a giant step towards tearing down the walls of exclusion." He expressed his belief that television programming such as that featured on ADC is crucial not only for the entertainment of people with disabilities but also for breaking down destructive stereotypes held by the general public. During the ceremony, awards were presented to several individuals and corporations who have made special efforts to portray people with disabilities in positive ways. The Eagle Award was presented to the newly-formed Congressional Advisory Board of ADC, headed by Lamar Smith, R-Texas. ADC also initiated the Justin Dart Award, presented to a person who has exhibited outstanding leadership on behalf of people with disabilities; the award went to Justin Dart. The Golden Apple Award, which will be presented to a national organization whose public service announcement conveys accurate, useful and positive information about persons with disabilities, was given to the Association for Retarded Citizens. The awards show featured sign-language interpreters and a large monitor showing the speakers and honorees as they accepted their awards. Unfortunately, several videotaped portions of the program featured no audio description, a surprising oversight for a program devoted to people with all types of disabilities. People interested in obtaining more information about ADC can contact the corporate headquarters at 1777 N.E. Loop 410, Suite 1401, San Antonio, TX 78217. (512) 824-7446. Senter encourages people who want their cable companies to carry ADC to contact their cable companies directly, whether by phone or by letter. MARYLAND'S BRAILLE BILL, THE LAW OF THE STATE by Debbie Grubb "Deb, this is Gene calling. House Bill 859 is now part of the Annotated Code of Maryland. It is Chapter 369 and will appear as part of the Education Article 'Education, Blind Persons Literacy.' ... Congratulations." That was the wonderful message that awaited me when I checked my answering machine in early May. I sat down with a cold glass of soda to celebrate and reflect on all the work done by so many caring people. From its grassroots beginning to its successful passage, the Maryland Braille Bill was a classic case where unity, strategy, and persistence paid off. If we can have such an accomplishment here in Maryland, it can be done anywhere where there are good people who are willing to put in a lot of hard work. The plan took shape after Mary Otten, president of the Central Maryland Chapter of the ACB of Maryland, returned from the 1991 ACB national convention. She shared with me those issues which most concerned ACB members. When I heard about the braille bills passed in Texas, Kansas and other states, I knew this was something we had to do. I had just had some contact with a very bright young man who was about to begin his senior year of high school. He explained to me that it took him an hour or more to read one page of printed material with his Visual Tech. He had not had any braille study since elementary school. After very little practice, his halting braille reading was far superior to his print reading skills. Another visually impaired child, a little girl of 12, had visited my Sunday school class. Her friend came to me and said, "Miss Debbie, don't call on my friend to read because she can't. She can read the word 'peanut butter' on a jar. That's about all she can read." I realized that the National Federation of the Blind had tried without success to get a braille bill passed in 1987. However, I knew we had to try again. I asked Mary Otten to call her contacts in California and get some braille bill texts. We then prepared a resolution for our state membership based on the Texas and Kansas bills. After that was passed, we began building a coalition. I called Sharon Maneki, president of the National Federation of the Blind of Maryland, and told her of our desire to have a braille bill introduced during the 1992 legislative session. "Would your organization like to work with us?" I asked. A long silence followed. Finally, Ms. Maneki assured me that she was still on the line but would have to get back to me. She explained that the NFB never forms coalitions but might be interested in working with us and that we couldn't get a bill passed without them. I reminded her that they hadn't been able to get their bill passed without us and we should agree to work together for the benefit of Maryland's blind children. A few days later, she phoned and stated that their representatives would like to meet with our representatives. While all of this was going on, Gene Spurrier, our state vice president, obtained the support of Maryland's Independent Living Council. I began to seek the support of the Maryland Advisory Council to the Governor's Office for Individuals with Disabilities. Not only did I want their support, I wanted to begin working on the Maryland State Department of Education's representative on that group, Marjorie Shulbank. This link in the coalition was essential because so far, MSDE had been adamantly opposed to any braille bill. It believed that such a bill dictated to special education teachers how to teach their students when they were in the best position to determine that. After much discussion, I said that the argument for the braille bill came down to this: No other disability substitutes technology for reading. I made it clear that the civil rights of our visually impaired children were being violated. My friend from MSDE was sold and she went back to her department and began working on her colleagues. She contacted all the states that have braille bills and she convinced Richard J. Steinke, Assistant Superintendent of the Division of Special Education, to talk to me. MSDE came on board. We have a member of our Maryland Chapter, Christina Baugh, who has taught at the Maryland School for the Blind for years and who has a loving and generous heart for blind children. I spoke with her about getting the school's support for our initiative. She presented an eloquent case to the Superintendent, Mr. Louis Tutt, and the Maryland School for the Blind joined us. During the first meeting of the NFB of Maryland and the ACB of Maryland, we agreed on all aspects of the contents of our bill. While I was at guide dog school, two meetings were held between our two organizations, the Maryland School for the Blind, and the Maryland State Department of Education. Compromises were made and the Draft Bill was completed. NFB of Maryland had the manpower to see every member of the Maryland Legislature to present our case. However, knowing that this would be an impossibility for us, Gene Spurrier, an old hand at the legislation game, and I decided to concentrate on the most influential members of the Senate Economic and Environmental Affairs Committee and the House Constitutional and Administrative Law Committee, where the bill would be heard, as well as other legislators with the best records on disability and those we deemed most influential. I prepared a packet consisting of a letter of testimony about the two children of my acquaintance, the fact that children are being allowed to graduate from Maryland's schools functionally illiterate, and an explanation of the job opportunities that will be available to young graduates with a knowledge of braille because of the fast-moving world of technology. Crucial passages from several braille bills were also included. Gene, our driver Jenny, my guide dog Libby, and I went to the state capitol in Annapolis on one of the coldest days of the year. We saw many legislators and their aides. Although some response was noncommittal, much of it was favorable and several of the delegates and senators with whom we spoke agreed to be sponsors of the bill. We came home exhausted but hopeful. The NFB of Maryland also lined up many good sponsors and played an integral part in having the bill introduced. Gene, Jenny, Libby and I went to testify before the Senate on one occasion and before the House twice. When we went to the House, we had to sit from 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. listening to officials from a little town explain the pros and cons of caring for its own sewage rather than letting the County continue to do so. Libby was the only one the Chair of the Committee praised for sitting through all of that. At one point, two versions of the bill were considered--an amended version of the bill sponsored by the Senate and the unamended House version favored by the organizations of the blind. After much phone dialing, explaining and cooperation from the House Constitutional and Administrative Law Committee, the unamended bill won the day. As the bill drew closer to passage, so did the deadline. We all began to worry about the clock. We had to get the bill out of the two Committees and onto the floors of the House and Senate before close of session. It was close but we made it. Many of the legislators told us that they were amazed and heartened to see such unity among the blind community. MSB Superintendent Louis Tutt, said many of his colleagues called such a cooperative effort "unique to Maryland's Braille Bill." The work goes on. Gene Spurrier and a representative from the NFB of Maryland are on the Advisory Committee to the Maryland State Department of Education. This Committee is made up of consumers and special education instructors of the visually impaired and is convening for the purpose of writing guidelines for use by teachers and Individualized Education Program Teams in the selection of the appropriate reading and writing medium for visually impaired students. The legislation gives the Department of Education the responsibility for getting materials brailled and for choosing the standards that will be used to certify special education teachers for the visually impaired who will provide braille instruction. These were the two major items on which we compromised with MSDE during the drafting of the bill, which goes into effect on October 1, 1992. It is up to the advocates to make sure the job is being done well and promptly. However, we all can breathe a sigh of relief that there will be no more visually impaired children in our state who struggle to read the word "peanut butter" at the age of 12. SHE'S A LIBRARY ACCESS PIONEER by Nolan Crabb When was the last time you went to the local library, and without the help of a reader or anyone else, did research? Chances are, independent research in a library isn't something you do very often if at all. If you're a student, you've already realized that your research ability depends on the ability of your reader. But students who attend the St. Mary's campus of the College of St. Katherine's in Minneapolis can do independent library research using talking computers and the library's on-line databases. That's largely due to the efforts of Deborah Churchill, coordinator of services for visually impaired students on the campus. She says during a WordPerfect course for blind and partially sighted students, the students expressed interest in doing on-line searches with talking computers in the library. "Once we'd worked our way through WordPerfect," she explains, "we asked the students what else they'd like to know about computers. Some of them had heard about CompuServe and about getting into on-line databases. So we went into the library and installed Jaws (a software program that allows users to hear information from the screen and keyboard spoken by a speech synthesizer), on the library's computer. With that group, we just played around at a real entry level. We went shopping at Sears via CompuServe." In many public and college libraries around the country, patrons or librarians can sit down at a computer terminal, dial the telephone number of a large mainframe computer where information is stored on a variety of subjects, and read the journal article, book chapter or newspaper story they need to do their research. At most libraries, blind and partially sighted people are limited to getting research results from a sighted librarian. While the students may have made the decision to do database searches with a talking computer, Churchill is more than capable of meeting the challenge. She is a co- chair of the Special Interest Group on Blindness and Visual Impairment of the Association on Handicapped Student Service Programs in Postsecondary Education, and represents AHSSPPE as a member of the Coalition for Information Access for Print Handicapped Readers. Her solid knowledge of library science and access technology savvy make her a natural at finding new and better ways for students to do independent computer research. While many blind professionals have researched databases with talking or braille output computers, Churchill says the concept is all too foreign in the university and public library setting. She said the union of access technology and library searching began in earnest on the St. Mary's campus when a librarian was asked to instruct a physical therapy class on doing bibliographic searches. A blind student and his guide dog were among those in the class. "That blew her out of the water," Churchill recalls. "She recognized the need for this student to be able to do the research, but wasn't familiar with how it could be done. She and the student got together and worked on a couple of databases. She recognized that what would work for one student would probably work for others." Churchill has written a grant proposal which would explore library researching and independent access in greater detail. "One of the facets of the project is to try to do some outreach to other libraries," she explains. "We want to let them know how easy it is to get access technology to work with database searches and share some information on that end. Hopefully, we can do some presentations to individual librarians to try to get them to make their collection systems more accessible." Churchill says very few libraries are encouraging independent computer research by blind students. "We really were surprised at how effectively it worked without a lot of manipulation of the software," she says. "I think that's what's kept a lot of other universities away from doing this--they assume that it's going to be really complicated. So many of the things we assume will be easy turn out to be complex. I think a lot of people just assume this is going to be difficult." She says the problems of library access are more administrative than technical. "Librarians don't always see disability access as part of their responsibility," she explains. "They kind of shove that off onto the disability services office. They kind of shy away from that." She says all too often on too many campuses, librarians and disability student service personnel each assume the other will start the ball rolling. "I think one of the neat things that happened at St. Mary's is that the librarian has an open, positive approach to things," Churchill says. "Instead of saying 'no, that won't work because ... ' she said 'why not?' She has a very good technology background, so she wasn't intimidated by the kinds of technological issues that came up." Churchill says cooperation between the library and the disabled student services office is a must if students are to meaningfully access the library's research capacity. Teaching students how to search using on-line databases is also an integral part of the process. "That's one of the things we'll be doing in a summer course this year," she says. "Students don't always have a lot of time available. So if they've always approached a research project with a reader, that's the way they're still going to do it unless we can show that this is a more effective time-efficient way of doing it." Earl Harrison, a physical therapy student who researches on-line databases with a talking computer, says that computerized searching is very different from relying on a reader. "You have more control over where you want to go and what you want to look at next," he explains. "You still get the same information on the screen, but you can make your own decisions about what's important." He says computerized searching has a time advantage over a reader as well. "If you have a reader, you only have a certain amount of time to get this done. With an on-line search, you can feel confident that if you didn't get the information you wanted the first time, you can go back and get what you need." Harrison, who does much of his on-line database searching at home, says the databases are quite self explanatory. "If the information is provided in a text format," he says, "there's really no reason you can't get the information you need." Churchill encourages public and college librarians to "take the plunge. Don't be frightened by what you may think are complex issues. It really can be more simple than you might expect." LEGAL ACCESS: AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT: MYTHS VS. REALITIES by Charles D. Goldman, Esq. (Material in this article originally appeared in The ADA Compliance Book and Handicapped Requirements Handbook, Thompson Publishing Group, Inc. It is reprinted with permission of Thompson Publishing Group.) The Americans with Disabilities Act is in a transitional period in 1992. It is evolving from theoretical mandate to practical part of the legal fabric. ADA will first and foremost change attitudes in society towards persons with disabilities. The changing of attitudes will be positively reinforced (and ADA itself will be a more effective tool to achieve equal opportunity) as the myths around the ADA are dispelled. The myths which envelop ADA are on all sides-- in the federal establishment (yes, there is life beyond the bureaucrats on the Potomac River), in the community of persons with disabilities (no, you did not get everything,) as well as in the state/local government and business communities (yes, the terms in ADA such as reasonable accommodation and qualified individual with a disability DO have understandable meanings and will NOT force you into bankruptcy.) While more myths may surface and need to be debunked as implementation of the new law evolves, here are some of the more salient myths and the reality antidotes. Myth 1: ADA is the supreme, strongest law of the land on disability rights! ADA is the greatest thing since sliced bread. Reality: Every state has some fabric of law(s) guaranteeing rights for persons with disabilities. These laws do vary in terms of their definition of what is a public accommodation (as compared to ADA Title III) and which employers are covered. Most states cover more smaller employers than ADA does. For years before the ADA was adopted, state building codes provisions required accessibility. ADA Section 501 provides that ADA does not supersede state and local laws which afford the person with a disability greater protection than the ADA! In a nutshell, ADA itself reflects that there is life beyond Washington, DC. Myth 2: Federal government understands the realities of costs of compliance with ADA. Reality: Costs count and that is reflected in the rules-- even if some officials may not articulate it. When the EEOC rules were proposed, EEOC was asked whether CITICORP, which had reported a $300,000,000 loss, would have to spend money on accommodations. The answer was, "That's a theoretical question." The bottom line of costs to businesses, to state, county, and local government, of deficits is in reality not theoretical. If your entity spends money on employees training, facilities etc., then it must spend money on making accommodations. In brief, what makes an accommodation an undue hardship will be its cost and administrative burden, measured in the context of the workforce, nature of operations, and financial resources (local and headquarters). (29 CFR Secs. 1630.2 (o) and 1630.2 (p). Myth 3: The federal government will regulate everyone under ADA since the law encompasses all employers. Reality: This comes up in the debate over the "Mom and Pop" stores. In the 1990s, "Mom and Pop" are the post 1980 yuppies. State and local laws, not the ADA, cover employment practices of the smaller employers. It is not uncommon for state and local employees to cover entities with fewer than fifteen employees that are never covered by ADA. For example, California covers employers of five or more persons; the District of Columbia covers all employers. Myth 4: ADA builds on Section 504, which everyone is familiar with, so compliance with ADA is easy. (This is the myth of "Generation Gap.") Reality: This is a mindset issue. Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act is one of the key legal foundations of the ADA. It bans discrimination against qualified individuals with disabilities (in that law, "handicaps") by recipients of federal funds and requires affirmative action by government contractors. While decisions and policies under Section 504 are a solid institutional basis for action under ADA, it is important that on an individual provider basis, there are many new persons involved in ADA who know nothing of the Rehabilitation Act. Veterans of the disability wars in Congress and in the executive agencies may overlook this generation gap among the persons providing services in these institutions. Myth 5: ADA is a level-the-land, make everything accessible, equal access law. Reality: The expectations in the community of persons with disabilities, from all the national attention, from the rhetoric-- positive in the community of persons with disabilities and negative in the business community-- lead to this myth. This myth generates fear in the business community that everything-- every site and service, whether old or new-- must be immediately accessible. In fact, ADA requires full access in new structures. Readily achievable-- not 100%-- barrier removal is what is required in older commercial facilities and places of public accommodation. Program accessible, not barrier-free, services are required of state and local government. In a nutshell, if it costs too much to fix or is structurally impractical, the physical barrier stays-- but the service involved still must be provided. Myth 6: The ADA requires employers to hire persons with disabilities. Reality: The ADA is not an affirmative action law. It is an equal opportunity law which requires non- discrimination. There are no goals or quotas under ADA. Myth 7: Employees who are disabled cannot be fired. Reality: See numbers five and six. Allow me to share a true story. The day after the Supreme Court decided Arline vs. Nassau County (the case establishing the criteria an employer is to follow when addressing the issue of a person with a contagious disease) a client called, proclaiming that they could not be fired. My client, an account representative, heard the headlines that the person with a disability had won and interpreted it as a blank check for permanent employment. I asked how sales were. The nondiscrimination mandate applies to firing as well as hiring. A person with a disability must be able, with or without reasonable accommodation, to perform the essential functions of the job. Like any able-bodied colleague, the person with a disability who fails to perform essential functions can and will be fired. Myth 8: ADA will mean that more persons with disabilities will be hired. Reality: This is what President Bush said when signing the bill. The problem here goes beyond ADA. The economy took a major turn downward after the ADA was signed for reasons unrelated to ADA. As a general rule, job openings and hirings are not taking place in a major fashion. While the mandate not to discriminate applies to all phases of employment (29 CFR Sec. 1630.4), including the hiring process, in reality what is happening now is that more persons with disabilities are feeling empowered in the employment arena. As a practical matter, more individuals who are already employed are voluntarily identifying themselves as persons with disabilities and asserting their legal rights, such as to promotions, benefits, etc.-- even though these individuals had similar or identical rights under state law or the Rehabilitation Act that could have been asserted previously. There will be more hiring of persons with disabilities when there is more hiring throughout the economy. Myth 9: Persons with disabilities are singular entities. The debate around the ADA and the implementation of regulations is often phrased around what it would cost for one person with a disability to get into a restaurant, hotel, etc. Reality: Persons with disabilities, like persons who are able-bodied, interact with peers, co-workers, family members, business and social friends. If a person with a disability wanted to see a movie alone, that person would be more likely to rent a video than to go to the local multiplex of theaters. Myth 10: ADA requires employers to hire persons who are gay. Reality: This has been a highly charged issue, which detracts from the main issue of discrimination against persons with disabilities. ADA is not a law which prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation or preference. ADA does cover qualified individuals who have AIDS or are HIV positive. It does not address homosexuality; in fact, ADA Section 511 expressly excludes from the coverage conditions of homosexuality, bisexuality, transvestism, voyeurism, etc. However, certain jurisdictions, such as the District of Columbia, under their laws, do prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation or preference. Myth 11: The key terms in ADA, such as "reasonable accommodation" and "qualified individual with a disability" are so new and vague that their true meaning can only be determined by years of litigation. Reality: This was the hue and cry when the ADA was debated. Congress wisely drew upon the experiences under the Rehabilitation Act, the first regulations of which were finalized in 1977. The terms have an established meaning, which has been interpreted by the federal agencies, courts, and business and disabilities communities for more than a decade. These establishment meanings were embodied, with relatively minor change, in both the ADA itself (see e.g. Secs. 3 and 101) and the agency regulations. See e.g. EEOC rules 29 CFR Secs. 1630.2 (m) and 1630.2 (o), and Department of Justice at 28 CFR Sec. 35.104. Myth 12: Thanks to ADA, every business in this country has to provide me with material in accessible formats, such as braille, large print, or cassette. Reality: While ADA will eventually increase the amount of material available in accessible formats, it will not do so immediately. The regulations still allow businesses to read information to clients. For example, a restaurant is not required to provide braille menus as long as a waiter is willing to read the menu to a blind customer. Myth 13: The Feds will vigorously enforce ADA this year. Reality: In general, in the rights and responsibilities arena, the newest law, the newest protected class, has the most complaints and litigation. Temper that axiom with the times. We are in the midst of that quadrennial national catharsis known as a national election. A conservative Republican administration just isn't philosophically inclined to do anything vigorous relating to civil rights in an election year. While the President supported ADA, enforcing it on a bigtime basis in an election year is another story. While the foregoing myths may address misconceptions in the federal government, disability or service (public/private) provider groups, there are a few generic misperceptions which envelop ADA. ADA has been characterized as a "lawyer's relief act," which it is not. It is an act which, if implemented correctly, with sound program, construction, financial and legal planning, can actually increase the base of people-- both able-bodied and disabled-- who are served by business and government. ADA has been called a civil rights law. In reality it is a rights and responsibilities law. ADA gives opportunities for services for employment to persons with impairments who are qualified. However, nothing requires employers or service providers to give away their jobs and services. ADA is an extremely well-balanced law, weighing equally the need for full participation and nondiscrimination of persons with disabilities with legitimate service and business concerns. The last myth is that this law is the Americans with DISABILITIES Act. ADA recognizes and mandates that services and jobs should not be limited to "perfect people." The reality is that the law is the Americans with ABILITIES Act. SILENCE MAY BE GOLDEN, BUT SHE GETS PAID TO TALK by Nolan Crabb It's another weekend night in Philadelphia. But for ACB member Arlene Silvestri, this evening will be far from routine. As 11:00 p.m. approaches, she picks up her phone, dials a number, and waits for the tone that indicates she's on duty. She'll stay close to the phone until 8:00 tomorrow morning talking to anyone who comes on the line. On any given weekend, Silvestri can make between $200 and $300. As an operator on a 900 chat line, Silvestri fields calls from people throughout the United States, and she's paid to keep 'em talking. Tonight, she'll hear from a despondent young man who wants to take his life. Another caller will describe a childhood bizarre enough to qualify him for the talk show circuits. A third caller simply wants to hear another responsive human voice. Silvestri says she's not the only blind person cashing in on conversation. "There are three other blind women who work for the same company," she says. She says the phone offers people an opportunity to break down barriers quickly. "The positive thing about this is you can open up to people and just talk. There are no appearance issues, no income differences, none of that is important." In fact, for Silvestri, the chat line is an amusing way to make a living. "The average age of the callers is 18 to 24," she explains. "It's kind of funny--a lot of them have their head in the clouds--they have all sorts of romantic ideas about relationships and what they want to do with their lives." Silvestri explains her job is more than just talk. "I actually have to do some research occasionally," she admits. "I'll buy some of the magazines that deal with contemporary music, cars or any number of other things people in that age group are interested in. It's important for me to know about the things that matter to the callers." She finds the chat line job amusing in other ways as well. When she picks up the phone, she takes on a double life of sorts. She assures callers who ask that she's five feet five inches tall; in reality, she's five feet one inch tall. She changes her name and becomes a blonde (her hair is actually dark). With the phone serving as a high-tech fairy godmother, this modern Cinderella in her 30s who relies on mass transit suddenly becomes a 23-year-old queen of the road in her sleek late model automobile. "It's a little like being an actress in a way," she says. "I guess a lot of people would frown on that, but you can't just tell anyone and everyone who you are and where you live. There are privacy and security things you have to deal with." While 900 numbers where callers pay to talk to operators have received a great deal of bad press, Silvestri insists there's a positive element to what she does. "I sometimes get calls from women who can't sleep who call to say, 'I just needed someone to talk to.' Others call because they're worried about something in their lives. Sometimes all I have to do is listen, and they talk it out. On one occasion, I had a guy call who said he had just taken sleeping pills in an attempt to commit suicide. I called his police department in Maine, and they rushed him to the hospital. He called back a couple of hours later, upset with me, but relieved at the same time." She says the fact that she can stay at home and do her job is a definite plus for her. According to Silvestri, many of her callers are people with disabilities. That can pose a dilemma for her at times. She's paid to keep people talking, but she knows many of her callers are on fixed incomes and probably can't afford the calls. "There was one case where a mildly retarded guy called a lot," she recalls. "He lived with his sister who was trying to raise kids on her own. I knew they didn't have the money. During one phone call, his sister picked up the phone. He tried to tell her he was calling a radio station in the area, but I intervened and told her the truth. I got in a little trouble with my supervisors over that, but I felt better knowing I had stopped a situation from becoming financially out of hand." She says there are some negatives about the job as well. "I don't like the way I have to lie to these callers," she explains. "You have to make them feel like you genuinely care about them. That's not so bad, but many of them want you to write to them, and you have to make up excuses why you haven't written when they're connected to you the next time. But for all the negatives, I still believe what I'm doing has value. Let's face it--there's a lot of loneliness out there. Not every caller is strange or abnormal, contrary to what people may think. An awful lot of them really just want to talk. They'll talk about anything from their cars to their relationship with their parents or friends. There's a lot about this job I enjoy, and you can make pretty good money on the weekends without having to leave the house." IS THERE A COST TO CIVIL RIGHTS? SOME ESSENTIAL NONSENSE ABOUT DOLLARS AND SENSE by Mary Jane Owen (Reprinted with permission from "Horizons," May 1989) (Editor's Note: Although this story was originally printed more than three years ago, it seems more timely than ever in light of the election year and the growing concern over costs and benefits.) Did you know there really are people whose credentials indicate that they are prepared to "manage" disability and our rehabilitation into the mainstream of American life? Probably. But have you paused to consider some of the implications of such a claim of expertise? We tend to expect that such credentials are based on a certain level of ability to take charge, influence and dominate others to move toward a common goal. But my definition also includes a troubling phrase: "to contrive to get along." A noble enterprise, no doubt. When we "contrive" successfully in the field of disability right now, we ingeniously devise some scheme or definition which will work well enough to support some program or initiative under the threat of an economic or political ax. But, in fact, we are fast approaching the point where the flimsy data base upon which we depend may topple from its unsupported weight. There are few areas of public policy and professional management which continue to rest on such "feel-good" justifications and vague "facts." Why doesn't somebody do something about it? A simple question like "What is America currently paying to support its crop of disability programs?" appears to be unanswerable. We have rightly respected little formulae into which we can fit each and every factor of broad public concern. We estimate or guesstimate how much each unemployed worker or foreign car sale depletes the nation's economy. We have some grand sense of a Gross National Product. We contrive all sorts of price tags for all number of things "we" as a nation consider essential. Those of us who labor to expand options for people who have revealed our natural human tendency to develop an assortment of impairments are frustrated. And in that state we turn to each other asking "What does disability really cost and how can we justify the price of inclusion and integration?" A friend who works all day on disability statistics laughed at my request. He gave me his best guess. He took my suggestion of making use of the same formula employed by the Department of Labor in calculating the cost of each unemployed worker. We could substitute the benefits received by "the handicapped" for those received by "the unemployed," retaining that portion which relates to lost contributions to the general economy. It made sense to me but nonsense to him. "If you added all the costs you are talking about, the figure would be so big, nobody would take it seriously. It would be too big!" An essay titled, "What Costs the Nation 100 Billion Dollars But Doesn't Work?" was misprinted in one of its published forms. The editor dropped the figure by 100 fold, even though he is an expert in the field. He couldn't believe I was seriously suggesting that we, as a nation, spend One Hundred Billion Dollars on currently funded programs. This figure was taken from Professor Edward Berkowitz's ironically named book on "Disabled Policy." I shared this carefully crafted figure with some policy experts from some of our more prestigious Washington-based think tanks, suggesting that such a high cost might merit some tough-minded analysis. They collectively smiled rather wanly and faded away. Our ongoing and wasteful national expenditures on "disability" continue to be an unobserved phenomenon. Small wonder we do not know how our resources might be invested to bring the greatest yield in human potential. The silent hemorrhage of lost potential, wasted dollars, unfulfilled possibilities, is quietly draining away essential vitality. But our policy makers and the academicians turn away to address issues which have a more clearly perceived connection to the GNP. The "graying of America" combined with the ever-increasing survival rates of young people who enter the ranks of "the handicapped" each year are noted. But where are the equally essential calculations taking place, illustrating the advantages of allowing those now being pushed into premature retirement to continue to live productively, in spite of flaws, imperfections, and an assortment of impairments? Some years ago a government agency involved with promoting the employment of people with disabilities was visited by the incoming Secretary of Labor. Upon being informed that this was the staff of the President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities, this top government official, charged with responsibility to keep the productive wheels of America turning, remarked in hushed tones, "You're doing God's work for the Department of Labor. Keep up the good work." That was an administration or so ago, but too little has altered in the minds of those with the power and the intellect to look hard and examine seriously the cost of trusting to God's continued care of those "unfortunate" enough to have to live in an environment which discounts their potential and fears their imperfections. Counterbalancing our obvious lack of cost/benefit figures are very specific price tags on those items which separate us from the mainstream. A local official in a Nebraska city knows exactly how much one form of accommodation will cost: "A wheelchair lift installed at the time of manufacture will add $14,000 to $16,000 to the cost of a $150,000 to $160,000 bus, and adding a lift to older buses will cost $20,000 to $22,000." Now that's neat and concise. Then the judging public turns to the wheelchair user of the community to hear: "We must be allowed to ride -- it's our civil right!" That is a powerful moral position. But it could use a bit more concrete and realistic underpinning. How many people along that bus route will not be paying into the tax- base of that community because their Social Security, which they don't particularly want, is not taxable, and their potential wage, which they'd love a chance to earn, would contribute to the city's revenues? How many of those people along the route buy everything they can through the mail because of transportation difficulties and therefore don't pay local sales taxes? How many dollars could be piled, one upon the other, with that one time $15,000 investment in municipal accessibility? Are we guilty of turning away from the cost of our own disabilities? Again, in the area of transportation, have you considered how many hours of valuable time (both yours and those waiting for you) have been wasted because of transportation details over which you had no control. You arrive late, the meeting must move forward to make up the time your lateness caused and again we ignore the personal cost in time and credibility. We also jeopardize our ability to make realistic judgements when we cite the flimsy research base we have on accommodations in the workplace. Over and over we survey employers of the current crop of employed people and learn that "accommodation is no big deal" and that most cost just a few dollars, like those ingenious little blocks of wood placed under the legs of conventional desks. How can we continue to ignore an obvious reality: those currently employed tend to be those who needed the least accommodation. People who sit in wheelchairs but do not require high technology devices are cheaply accommodated. But those individuals, important as they are within the ranks of "the handicapped," are vastly outnumbered by those who do not see or hear or move well enough to do their job well without the aid of a one-time investment in technology which costs a bit more than four inches of lumber. My sociologist friend insists it's all a definitional problem. He favors an employment-based determination of disability and is convinced there is a point in the continuum of "ability to function" beyond which one cannot be productive. At that cusp, but not before, one becomes "handicapped." For my part, I do not accept that anyone this side of a coma needs to live non-productively, given adequate training, support, and devices or technology. Currently, we don't demand that people who use eyeglasses remove them when we evaluate them for their potential productivity. What is it about that device which moves it from "special" into "routine?" The fully understood and documented relationship between the cost and the obvious benefits to society have long since tipped "glasses" into the realm of "normal." In the 21st century, all who do not control their "personal computers" will be seriously handicapped. Such "special" aids to our feeble abilities might make us evaluate other "special" devices with a slightly more open mind. That which makes the quadriplegic "walk," the blind "see," the deaf "hear," the mentally retarded "comprehend" and the emotionally disabled tolerate the stress of life more comfortably, is on the horizon. But some of us are impatient to move into President Bush's "opportunity society." So let's demand the sort of tough-minded analysis of the status quo which brought us to the moon. There were many who saw no financial gain for that expenditure, yet it resulted in great leaps in knowledge -- and our data gap exceeds the toleration of any rational mind. Aren't you fed up with the lack of dollars and sense in the field of disability? Tell somebody! TAKING A LOOK AT VOCAL-EYES by Nolan Crabb As Americans, we all too often take for granted the dazzling array of choices we have when it comes to buying consumer goods. Even in a limited marketplace, those choices can be daunting. Last fall when we purchased additional computer work stations for the ACB National Office, we faced the difficult question of which type of access technology to use. Ultimately, we settled on voice output because of its affordability, and we chose GW Micro's Vocal-Eyes and the Sounding Board to make the machines accessible. From our perspective, Vocal-Eyes proved to be the right choice. THE SYNTHESIZER Like nearly everyone else who must decide at some time what kind of synthesizer to buy, we had no magic formulas or easy answers to make the job simple. Quite frankly, we chose Vocal-Eyes and its accompanying Sounding Board partly because GW Micro offered an attractive price and partly because the package came highly recommended by both users and trainers. The Sounding Board sounds similar to some other speech synthesizers which are plugged directly into the computer. It took some getting used to, as any synthesizer does, but its excellent design and solid construction made life easy for us when we needed to change switch settings. It also offers some real flexibility in terms of speed, pitch, and in the use of keys which control it. We had no problem changing the key configuration to meet our needs. Pronunciation rules are stored in memory chips attached to the Sounding Board, thereby freeing up valuable computer memory for other tasks. GW Micro ships an amplified speaker with the Sounding Board which further adds to the clarity of the speech. With such features as rewind and fast forward and a quick time-of-day & date announcement, the Sounding Board itself can be considered feature rich, and that's before you add the bells and whistles found in Vocal-Eyes. THE SOFTWARE In order to make a computer talk, you need both the speech synthesizer and the software to make it work. If either component is weak, your ability to get relevant information from your computer diminishes. Vocal-Eyes, the software program which drives the Sounding Board and a host of other synthesizers, has a great deal to offer in terms of features and gaining access to your computer screen, but it has less to offer where ease of use is concerned. You can tailor Vocal-Eyes to your specific needs by following a series of on- screen menus. In fact, you can tailor Vocal-Eyes to work with a variety of different programs from word processors to telecommunications software. Based on our experience, we found Vocal-Eyes really shines when working in conjunction with WordPerfect and Procomm Plus, a popular telecommunications program. The real problem isn't whether Vocal-Eyes will work with most character-based programs (we've found very few programs that don't work to our satisfaction). The real problem is that you have to create special configuration files for each program you use. If you use a word processor, you may have to create a customized configuration program that allows Vocal-Eyes to speak the information you need from the word processor. That same configuration program won't necessarily work if you decide to use a database manager or telecommunications program. That means you have to write new configuration files for Vocal-Eyes to use. In today's ever more graphical computer environment, those configuration files can be tricky to write. We spent virtually hours trying to design a configuration file that works with a group of programs called PC Tools Version 7. PC Tools and Vocal-Eyes still don't work satisfactorily, at least for us. These multiple configuration files are a necessary evil, largely because of the design of the various kinds of software on the market. No doubt the folks at GW Micro yearn for a less complicated world where their product would work on any program with one or two keystrokes. For the most part, though, these configuration files are more time consuming than difficult. What Vocal-Eyes may lose in ease of use where those configuration files are concerned, it more than makes up for in features and flexibility. Vocal-Eyes can detect and interpret many of the graphical gimmicks the software manufacturers build into today's character-based programs. It can read a surprisingly large number of programs with some rather strange screen designs. This is due partly to Vocal-Eyes's ability to create adjustable windows which can be spoken automatically whenever the text or even the screen color inside them changes. We've created a number of special files which speak the names of special keys when they are pressed. The functions of these keys can change with each new program, but Vocal-Eyes automatically detects the program you use and speaks the appropriate key names. You can also create a user dictionary of pronunciations--a process as easy as creating a text file in a word processor. DOCUMENTATION GW Micro provides the Vocal-Eyes manual on tape and computer disk. The manual is tone-indexed and extremely well written from our perspective. It is both logical and thorough. The taped edition is narrated nicely and the writing is concise and easy to understand. TECHNICAL SUPPORT If the user's manual is well written, there should be little need for technical support. But when you need it, it should be the best it can be. GW Micro does an outstanding job of providing patient, thorough, and accurate technical support. We had some significant problems getting Vocal-Eyes and our new computers to work successfully. GW Micro's reputation for excellent technical support was tested to its limits--and they passed with a higher-than-excellent rating. We discovered that the problem was related to the computers, not to Vocal-Eyes. If exceptional technical support are important to you, you should look closely at Vocal-Eyes. In short, while ACB doesn't endorse any particular brand or product, we can honestly say that our experiences with Vocal-Eyes have been good. The time you'll spend learning the program probably won't be excessive, and its feature-laden flexibility, solid documentation, and excellent technical support make the program a good investment. THIRTY YEARS AGO IN THE FORUM The July, 1962 issue of "The Braille Forum" featured an article entitled "Charting a New Course," by Earl Scharry. Scharry, a charter member of the American Council of the Blind, was extensively involved in "The Braille Forum" and its predecessor, "The Braille Free Press." He originated "Hyde Park Corner," an opinion page in which Forum readers could express their viewpoints on controversial issues. Scharry became editor of "The Braille Forum" in March, 1971, and continued until 1972, when ill health forced him to resign. However, he remained active with the "Forum" and with ACB until his death in 1976. In "Charting a New Course," Scharry wrote movingly of his hopes for the new organization. He began by explaining his thoughts on why people had formed the American Council of the Blind: "In any organization there is always a temptation to subordinate principle to expediency. Expediency can take you far. When cleverly manipulated it can take you just about any place, except where you want to go-- because you really aren't going any place. Your ultimate goal is completely subordinated to the advantage of the moment. "The founders of the American Council of the Blind acted in defense of valued principles in launching this new venture. In this new organization it is imperative that all of us continue to place principle above expediency as we strive to merit the allegiance of blind citizens and the respect of the general public." Scharry believed that the Resolutions Committee would be crucial to establishing the principles and goals of ACB. " ... The work of the Resolutions Committee and the action of the membership upon its recommendations should be given precedence over all else at (the upcoming convention in) St. Louis. We should first of all set up the principles which will be our guideposts and then try to see to it that our actions on such things as constitutional provisions, financing, legislative program, and policies on specific issues conform with these principles. I believe that the people who will meet in St. Louis can unite overwhelmingly on a number of salient principles." The principles Scharry listed were: A democratic organization in which the officers were accountable to the executive committee, which in turn was accountable to the membership; freedom of expression for ACB's spokespeople and members alike; broad participation in ACB's governing board, periodic rotation in its offices, and sound budgeting procedures; the promotion of independence and opportunity for blind people and the debunking of the stereotype of the helpless blind person; a willingness to cooperate on common objectives with other organizations for the blind; and a responsibility to keep in mind the welfare of others as well as that of the blind. "Once we have discovered and enunciated the principles on which we are united," Scharry concluded, "they should not be treated or regarded as mere window dressing, as tools to be used to serve the expediency of the moment and then cast aside and forgotten. ... We should not use them as the debater who marshals and utilizes arguments solely as a means of winning a point which he has settled on in advance, but as a philosopher who seeks the truth. We should not use them as the politician who manipulates arguments for his personal advantage, but as the statesman who is guided by principles in seeking the right solution." IN DEFENSE OF GOLDBRICKERS by William L. Lewis (Editor's Note: This piece originally appeared in "The Braille Forum" in July, 1965. Author William Lewis has updated it, believing that its message is still timely today.) I have read innumerable books and articles extolling the merits of educational and vocational opportunities for the blind and visually impaired. They say we blind people should accept responsibility to learn, work, advance and try to better ourselves and conduct ourselves at all times as a representative of visually impaired people in general. Yeah, but what about the need not to succeed? What about those millions of people who have successfully devoted their lives to inferiority, irresponsibility, failure, dissipation, and to being shiftless bums? Can a society exist without them? I think not, and here is why. In our democracy a lot of fortunate and unfortunate opportunities exist for moving up and down the socioeconomic ladder. Over forty million people moved in and out of the middle class in the past decade, creating continual social and psychological adjustment problems not only for those making the moves but also for those left behind. Change the social context of the good and the bad, rich and poor, superior and inferior, intelligent and ignorant, and you upset the psychological apple cart and consequentially must rearrange who is better off than whom. Look at what happens when just one person forgets his place and moves out of the system. Once upon a time not very long ago and in a place not far away lived the Malony family, who had kept government and state welfare social service workers employed for almost fifty years. The family had federal and state income, food stamps, medical cards, and state subsidy. They used the school's free lunch program, the nearby Food Bank, obtained free cheese and surplus foods, and they knew about the Red Cross and utility services. Ladies from the nearby church used to give them Christmas goodies and a few dollars each summer to help with utility bills. People living on the other side of the river implored their children to be good, work hard, study diligently and get ahead or they would be just like that Malony family on the other side. Yes, John Malony III and his family were very important persons. Without them his neighbors would have no way of knowing how well off they were. Then the trouble started. One day a newly-hired young lady from the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation-- those do-gooders-- dropped by to talk with John. He had seen them before but knew he was not capable of working. Being blind and relatively adjusted to his lot in life, John worked on his various home hobbies and idly dreamed of someday being President or playing basketball for the New York Knicks. The Vocational Rehab worker taught him the differences between dreams, wants, needs, and how to consider the realities of the practical and possible rather than just wishing. He soon realized that effort and hard work were necessary for all worthy goals including having fun, so he finally packed up his personal belongings in a box and moved away. Rehab center tests showed John to be a smart fellow who never applied himself, but was never challenged. After initial resistance, he entered college, earned several degrees, obtained a very good professional position, and began supporting his whole family clan. Nothing has been the same since. What do his neighbors think? Although there is one Vocational Rehabilitation counselor walking around with a big smile on her face, there are some mighty outraged other folks in town. The families across the river say that John is uppity and has obviously forgotten his roots. Neighborhood kids who used to help him across busy streets throw rocks at his house. The sweet little ladies at the church are incensed that there is no longer anyone in the neighborhood to give Christmas baskets or utility assistance to, so now they must drive clear across town. When John began financially supporting and obtaining jobs for his clan, who also left the social security and welfare programs, those financial assistance departments got their budgets trimmed. I personally plan to send telegrams to the Governor to order the administrative director of the Division of Services for the Blind to send a letter of reprimand to the vocational rehabilitation worker. I believe that God helps those who help themselves, but there has to be a limit. John Malony has placed a serious un-American, Leftist burden upon his community. We all, of course, believe in programs that help people help themselves through personal determination and effort, but enough is enough! Write letters to your congressmen, city officials, and community program administrators. Stand up on your braille typewriters or word processors and shout your complaint to anybody. We must cut those budget busting, commie-lib extremist training programs that fill people's spongy brains with knowledge, set them to thinking, teach them independent living skills, help them utilize community resources, train them to work competitively, and turn them into independently thinking, taxpaying voters who just might vote the wrong way. We must get John back. Have you ever gotten any satisfaction from giving a quarter to a rich man? I doubt it. Have you ever gone home feeling good after helping a boy scout cross the street? Of course not. Is it easy to feel superior to a blind man who is educated and probably makes twice as much money as you do? That would be hard. So, if we cannot get John back, who is going to make your day? Sure, I know some people who say John is advancing himself and his community, but we know differently. Don't we? Meanwhile, if you get the urge to give a quarter to someone, send it my way. Although John may not be needing it, I feel it my responsibility to maintain the status quo. But do something about it quick before Rush Limbaugh hears about it! AFFILIATE PROFILE: AMERICAN COUNCIL OF BLIND LIONS For decades, blindness and Lionism have been synonymous. But in recent years, Lions clubs across the country have begun to adopt other projects. While broadening the community-based activities is good, it could be detrimental if programs for the blind are neglected. A major objective of the American Council of Blind Lions, says President Jim Fleming, is to "get more blind people involved in Lionism to help remind them of what the basis of Lionism is about." Founded by the late Jim Chandler, ACBL currently has 120 members. Since the organization cannot accept dues, it relies on voluntary contributions. Since members of ACBL are already paying dues to local Lions clubs, they don't pay dues to the affiliate. The affiliate meets during the ACB convention, hosting a reception early in the week and a luncheon later. Fleming says the luncheon is structured like a Lions Club luncheon would be. "The reception and luncheon allow us to network with other members of other clubs to see what works in their community," he explains. "It's a valuable way to learn about a sight conservation project in another state, for example, and it's a great way to get people enthused about taking new ideas back to their clubs." Fleming says one of ACBL's objectives is to help sighted Lions gain more exposure to blind and visually impaired people. "We also want to get ACB members more actively involved in Lionism," he explains. The affiliate currently offers a newsletter and is considering the establishment of a toll-free number that would allow prospective blind Lions to find out where the club nearest them holds its meetings. For additional information on the American Council of Blind Lions, contact Jim Fleming, 5021 Seminary Rd., Apt. 1506, Alexandria, VA 22311. HERE AND THERE by Elizabeth M. Lennon The announcement of new products and services in this column should not be considered an endorsement of those products and services by the American Council of the Blind, its staff or elected officials. Products and services are listed free of charge for the benefit of our readers. The Braille Forum cannot be responsible for the reliability of products or services mentioned. NEW FROM ANN MORRIS A talking thermometer, which reads both medical and weather information, is available from Ann Morris Enterprises, 16 Horseshoe Ln., Levittown, NY 11756. Other products listed in a recent catalogue include a talking watch, braille calendar book, and a talking book player with a radio. Large print and cassette editions of the catalogue are free. Send a formatted floppy disk for an IBM-compatible version. Braille copies cost $8 each. JOB POTENTIAL Tri-County Industries of Rocky Mount, N.C., is currently recruiting staff for a Project With Industries grant the facility recently received in conjunction with Hardee's Fast Food Systems and Fast Food Merchandisers. The $300,000 grant is renewable for four additional years for a total of $1,500,000. The project's major thrust is to provide employment to about 2,000 people with disabilities within the next five years. People with special experience and skills in training, personnel, management, and computers are urged to apply. Contact Deborah Baker, Tri-County Industries, 1250 Atlantic Ave., Rocky Mount, NC 27802. Tel. (919) 977-3800. GOLDEN ANNIVERSARY Dr. Charles Buell and his wife Josephine recently celebrated their 50th anniversary in Berkeley, Calif., according to ACB Member Juliet Esterly. Dr. and Mrs. Buell taught at the California School for the Blind. According to Esterly, the celebration and tribute included former students, friends, and relatives. Buell is a pioneer in the field of adaptive physical education. Mrs. Buell was a mobility instructor. CURE WORSE THAN DISEASE? Individuals who experience an eye disease known as Optic Neuritis are very often treated with Corticosteroids. But a new study shows the drug may worsen the effects of the disease, which often afflicts women between 18 and 45. The study was conducted at the University of South Florida, and the results were published in the "New England Journal of Medicine." According to the study, Corticosteroids are ineffective and should not play any role in the treatment of Optic Neuritis. Researchers found that sight returned just as well in untreated patients as in those receiving the treatment. According to the study, the ailment is somewhat more likely to reoccur after treatment. Optic Neuritis is sometimes a forerunner to Multiple Sclerosis, and steroids are often used to treat both diseases, according to a story in the "Washington Post." Optic Neuritis affects more than 25,000 Americans annually, according to the National Eye Institute. Vision generally returns within six weeks of onset, although some sight loss is usually permanent. WHO'S OUT THERE? Those peepholes in your front door which are supposed to help you see the person outside aren't generally useful to people with limited vision. The DoorScope may change that, at least for some people, according to a press release from MRM Products, Inc. of Houston. The DoorScope may be used as far away as seven feet from the door, and it glass lenses eliminate the usual distortion of door peepholes, according to the press release. For more information, contact MRM Products, Inc., 12314 Moorcreek Dr., Houston, TX 77070. Tel. (713) 622-3344. LAW SCHOLARSHIPS Fordham University announces the availability of scholarships for blind law students. The school's law library includes an IBM PC with talking Westlaw database, a braille printer, and a Kurzweil Reading Machine. Students can retain scholarships as long as their grade point average is at least 2.3. For information about deadlines, criteria, scholarship amounts, and availability, contact Amy Reiss, Morrison, Cohen, Singer, and Weinstein, 750 Lexington Ave, New York, NY 10022. Tel. (212) 535-4764. VIRGINIAN HONORED Paul Duke, son of ACB Members William and Cheryl Duke of Virginia, was recognized by Embassy Suites, Inc. for his efforts to help the hotel chain comply with the Americans With Disabilities Act. Founder of the Opening Door, Inc., a company dedicated to improving travel conditions for persons with disabilities, Duke encouraged Embassy Suites to adopt standards that meet and exceed the provisions of the ADA. As a result of his efforts, the hotel chain now offers roll-in showers in some rooms and a staff training program. The chain will also include talking alarm clocks and clocks designed for guests with low vision. HARRIS POLL RESULTS A recent Harris poll indicates that 92 percent of Americans feel that society will benefit economically if people with disabilities are fully assimilated as participating partners, according to a press release from the National Organization on Disability. Some 98 percent believe that everyone including disabled people should have equal opportunity to participate in society. Not all the news is good. Fully 77 percent still feel pity and 92 percent admire disabled people who are "overcoming their disability." Mental illness causes greatest unease among those polled, followed by facial disfigurement, senility, and mental retardation. Deafness, blindness, and use of a wheelchair are less likely to make the general public feel ill at ease, according to the poll. NEW BRAILLE MATERIAL National Braille Press announces the availability of "Learning WordPerfect 5.1 Using a Voice Output Program," a manual designed to help computer users maximize their voice output program while using WordPerfect 5.1. The braille edition of the book costs $15.95. When ordering, please specify what size of computer diskettes you normally use; the book is sent with two disks for use with the manual. NBP also announces updates of its popular reference cards in Braille. Reference cards for WordPerfect 5.1 and Procomm Plus have been updated. The reference cards cost $5 each, according to the NBP Spring Catalogue. National Braille Press has also produced "Hannah," a book about a blind girl growing up in the late 1880s. According to NBP, the book is devoid of stereotypes so common in children's books about blindness. The braille edition costs $10.95. According to its catalogue, NBP now offers "The Norton Utilities 6 Quick Reference," published in print by Que Corporation. The $9.95 braille edition was published simultaneously with the print one. The book is designed to acquaint computer users with the various features of The Norton Utilities Version 6. The Norton Utilities is a compilation of programs designed to help computer users enhance the operation of various parts of their computer. To order or for more information, contact National Braille Press, 88 St. Stephen St., Boston, MA 02115. Tel. (617) 266-6160. OLD-TIME RADIO For a free cassette listing old-time radio programs, please write to the Duane Griffin Radio Library, 2265 Wahlquist Dr., Idaho Falls, ID 83401. Tel. (208) 522-9008. NATIONAL PARKS BOOK Senior Citizens and people with mobility, hearing or visual impairments will be interested in a new book published by the Sierra Club entitled "Easy Access to National Parks: The Sierra Club Guide for People With Disabilities." The book includes practical advice on planning safe and rewarding trips to 50 national parks. The book contains in-depth descriptions of 15 national parks designated as "best visits" for their exceptional accessibility. Sam Peterson, publicity and promotional manager for Sierra Club Books, told "The Braille Forum" the book will soon be available in braille from the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped. She said people interested in the print edition should contact her at Sierra Club Books, 100 Bush St., 13th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94104. THE ADA AND KIDS The American Foundation for the Blind has produced a two-track cassette for parents and educators of visually impaired children dealing with the Americans With Disabilities Act as a civil rights statute for youngsters as well as adults, according to the Spring 1992 issue of "AFB Midwest Newsletter." Entitled "The ADA Covers Children who are Blind and Visually Impaired, Too," the tape is a lively, and listenable dialogue between ACB Member Scott Marshall and Alan Dinsmore of AFB's Governmental Relations office and members of the National Association for Parents of the Visually Impaired Legislative Committee. The cassette is accompanied by a print ADA guide/resource list (braille copies are available on request.) The tape may be purchased for $12.95 plus shipping and handling. Order from Publications Department, American Foundation for the Blind, 15 W. 16 St., New York, NY 10011. MAGNIFIED MENUS Red Lobster, the seafood restaurant chain which has offered braille menus since the '70s, is now offering large print editions of those menus to visually impaired visitors, according to the May 1992 issue of "Feeling Sports." TURNING BREAD INTO DOUGH She was blind and widowed, but Melva Urban of Newell, Iowa had what it takes to turn bread into dough, according to the newsletter of the Iowa Council of the United Blind, Spring 1992. She was desperately looking for a way to supplement her income when she hit on the perfect idea. Remembering that friends and neighbors loved her bread, and since she was always giving it away, why not sell it? She acquired some used baking equipment and opened Urban Breads. Last year alone, she sold 5,000 loaves, not including the orders for cookies, muffins, and buns. LARGE PRINT GREETINGS American Greetings Corporation says it is expanding its line of greeting cards for the visually impaired. The company noted that an increasing number of older Americans are losing their sight, hence the motivation for the expansion. American currently offers large print birthday, sympathy, and get-well cards. It will expand that line to include holiday cards in large print. JEWISH HELP LINE The Yittin Leibel Help Line is a free service provided by the Yittin Leibel Chesed Fund, according to "Insight," published by Jewish Heritage for the Blind. No problem is too big or too small. Some of the Torah Community's highly-skilled therapists are available to talk to you on the phone with total anonymity. Call (718) HELPNOW. (718) 735-7669. Hours are Sunday, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. Weekday hours are Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. and Monday through Thursday from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. RECYCLED GLASSES New Eyes for the Needy will take your old eye glasses and make them over for those who cannot purchase new ones. If you have frames you want to pass on, send them to New Eyes for the Needy, 66 Highlands Ave., Short Hills, NJ 07078. BLINDNESS CONFERENCE The next International Conference on Low Vision will be held in Groninger, the Netherlands, July 5 through 9, 1993. Visio, the National Foundation for the Blind and Visually Impaired, will organize the conference together with the Department of Ophthalmology of the University of Groninger. The conference will include three separate components--plenary sessions on new development and research, parallel sessions in which new developments in the field will be presented and discussed, and poster sessions in which topics from the whole field of rehabilitation can be presented. For information on hotel facilities and registration, contact Van Namen and Westerlaken, Congress Organization Services, P.O. Box 1558, 6051 BN Nijmegan, the Netherlands. WONDER WANDERS TO EUROPE Male vocalist Stevie Wonder has hired a University of Alabama professor away from home for the summer to conduct his orchestra on a nine-country European tour, according to the Associated Press. Grammy-winning gospel musician Henry Panion says he's "numb with excitement." Panion got the job as a result of his work with the City Orchestra of Columbus, Ohio. Panion's arrangement of the gospel classic "Oh Happy Day" so impressed Leslie Dunner of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra that he recommended Panion to Wonder. Panion has spent the last several months writing arrangements for Wonder's music, according to the AP story. LOW INTEREST LOANS The American Foundation for the Blind announces expansion of the low-interest loan program to include all products manufactured for visually impaired people by Xerox Imaging Systems, Inc. The loan program was established in 1989 with funds provided by AFB and the Xerox Corp. to assist blind and visually impaired people of all ages in purchasing Kurzweil Personal Readers. The expansion of the loan program reflects the addition of new models of the KPR and most notably a variety of computer/KPR combinations designed to turn a personal computer into a fast, convenient desktop reading system. Each of these products offers state-of-the-art speech synthesis at a lower price than the original KPR system. For additional information about the program, contact Sheron Rice, Special Projects Administrator, National Technology Center, American Foundation for the Blind, 15 W. 16th St., New York, NY 10011. HIGH TECH SWAP SHOP FOR SALE: Internal Symphonics Speech Synthesizer, Model 225. Includes Artic Vision software version 3.0 for a laptop computer. Contact Martha Seabrooks, (410) 965-4004 daytime or (410) 435-6616 after 5 p.m. FOR SALE: Two VersaBraille P2C Classics, both in excellent condition. $400 each. Contact Michelle J. Smithdas, 10 Marino Ave., Port Washington, NY 11050. Braille preferred. 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