The Braille Forum Vol. V November 1966 No. 3 Published Bi-Monthly by the American Council of the Blind Oklahoma City, Oklahoma * Editor: Ned E. Freeman 136 Gee's Mill Road Conyers, Georgia 30207 * Associate Editors: George Card 605 South Few St. Madison, Wis. 53703 Earl Scharry 264 Saunders Ave. Louisville, Ky. 40206 * Executive Office: Miss June Goldsmith, Chairman Board of Publications 652 East Mallory Ave. Memphis, Tenn. 38106 Published at Oklahoma City, Oklahoma ***** ** Statement of Editorial Policy The BRAILLE FORUM is dedicated to promoting the greater independence, autonomy and dignity of all blind people. The FORUM will carry ACB official news and programs, but its pages will also be available for free expression of views of organizations and agencies of and for the blind and any developments of interest to its readers. Timely material is solicited. Selections of material will be made on the basis of interest, timeliness, originality, clarity and forcefulness of expression. In controversial matters space will be made available for the presentation of divergent points of view. ***** ** Notice The BRAILLE FORUM is available in braille, inkprint and on tape. Miss June Goldsmith, 652 E. Mallory Ave., Memphis, Tennessee 38106, should be notified of any change of address or of any person desiring to receive the braille or inkprint editions. The tape edition may be obtained from Mr. Ned E. Freeman, 136 Gee's Mill Road, Conyers, Georgia 30207. Letters and material for publication should be submitted to the Editor or to one of the Associate Editors. ***** ** Table of Contents Season's Greetings ACB Committees Inside ACB, by Earl Scharry On Sightseeing, by Ora Howerton Ned's Corner Specially Able, by John T. Connor, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Feel and See Museum Encouragement for Blind Scientists, by T.A. Benham Blind Teenagers Learn to Earn Now -- Better Health Care Medical Transcription -- A Challenging Field ACB Tape Chatter, by John B. Sevier A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum From Wisconsin Here and There, by George Card Letters from Readers His "Handicap" Is an Advantage Refugees from the Round File A.F.O.B. Expands its Program ACB Officers and Directors The BRAILLE FORUM is indebted to members of the Oklahoma City Chapter, Oklahoma Federation of the Blind, for their assistance in assembling and mailing, the Large Type Edition and to Ways and Means for the Blind, Augusta, Georgia, for their support of our Tape Library Services, including circulation of the BRAILLE FORUM. ***** ** Season's Greetings The Staff of the BRAILLE FORUM extends to you and yours our best wishes for A HAPPY HOLIDAY SEASON and A JOYOUS CHRISTMAS! While offering our thanks for blessings received, may we remember to be grateful for the great advancements in the well­being of all blind and otherwise handicapped people. The progress has been great, but there is still much to be done. Let us all, therefore, dedicate our efforts to the furtherance of this cause. As we sing "Joy to the World" and "Peace on Earth to Men of Good Will" may we add our prayers to those arising the world over for a happier future for all in a peaceful world. ACB president, Reese Robrahn, has foregone, for this issue, his regular President's Message in order that we might publish the list of ACB Committees which have been appointed to date. Others will be appointed and announced from time to time, including a committee which will be concerned with the multiply handicapped blind, including the deaf-blind. If you have suggestions, you are invited to write to the chairman of the appropriate committee or to the member in your area. ***** ** ACB Committees * = Chairman AUDIT: *J.M. Warren, 100 S. 16th, Nashville, Tennessee 37206; Gerald Pye, 3344 Matheson Drive, Macon, Georgia 31204; Eloise Whaley, 8458 East Brainard Road, Chattanooga, Tenn. 37411. CREDIT UNION PILOT PROJECT: *Durward McDaniel, 305 Midwest Building, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73102; F.W. Orrell, 5209 Alabama Ave., Chattanooga, Tennessee 37409; G. Arthur Stewart, 2314 Virginia Street, St. Louis, Missouri 64504. LEGISLATIVE: (total membership incomplete) *Durward McDaniel, 305 Midwest Building, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73102; John Thomas, 820 S. Dellrose, Wichita, Kansas 67218; John Sevier, 449 East 28th Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21218; Dave Krause, 1616 18th St., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20009; Ned E. Freeman, 136 Gee's Mill Road, Conyers, Georgia 30207. BUDGET: *F.W. Orrell, 5209 Alabama Avenue, Chattanooga, Tennessee 37409; Alma Murphey, 4103 Castleman Avenue St. Louis Missouri 63110; Reese H. Robrahn, 541 New England Bldg., Topeka, Kansas 66603. FINANCE: *George Card, 605 S. Few Street, Madison, Wisconsin 55703; F.W. Orrell, 5209 Alabama Avenue, Chattanooga, Tennessee 37409; Vernon Williams, 217 Western Union Bldg., Aberdeen, South Dakota 57401; Don Cameron, 724 South Davis Street Tampa Florida 33606; Fred Lilley, 53 W. Jackson Blvd. Suite 1449, Chicago, Illinois 60604. MEMBERSHIP: *George Card, 605 S. Few Street, Madison, Wisconsin 55703. RESOLUTIONS: *Vernon Williams, 217 Western Union Bldg., Aberdeen, South Dakota 57401; (Co-chairman) *Mary Jane Schmitt, 55 Queens Street, Rochester, New York 14609; J. Edward Miller, 2521 Chesterfield Ave., Charlotte, North Carolina 28205; Rosemary Distifan, 708 S. Clifton, Wichita, Kansas 67218; Fred Krepela, 363 Court St., N.E., Salem, Oregon 97301. PUBLIC RELATIONS: *Juliet Bindt, 2709 Derby Street, Berkeley, California 94705; Bonnie Byington, 950 Drury Lane, Wichita, Kansas 67207; Don Nold, 3202 South Clinton, Berwyn, Illinois 60403; Mary Jane Schmitt, 55 Queens Street, Rochester, New York 14609. CONSTITUTION: *Ned Freeman, 136 Gee's Mill Road, Conyers, Georgia 30207; Earl Scharry, 264 Saunders Ave., Louisville, Kentucky 40206; Floyd Qualls, P.O. Box 1476, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73102; Alma Murphey, 4103 Castleman Ave., St. Louis, Missouri 63110; Robert McMullen, Criminal Court Bldg., 26th & Calif. Ave., Room 125, Chicago, Illinois 60608. COORDINATOR OF TAPESPONDENT CLUB: John B. Sevier, 449 East 28th St., Baltimore, Maryland 21218. (Telephone: 301-467-5058) ***** ** Inside ACB By Earl Scharry (A condensation of ACB Convention Keynote Address, Atlanta, July 1966) Though the history of ACB is a short one, its ranks are filled with individuals and organizations which have for many years stood in the forefront of the struggle for equal opportunities for blind people and against public misunderstanding, indifference and rejection. Its primary concern during its formative years has been to build a thoroughly democratic structure in which there is freedom for the germination and dissemination of ideas and in which the elected officers will serve the wishes of the membership rather than issue Olympian mandates to them. In this effort to form a more democratic organization ACB has been successful. Sound budgetary and fiscal procedures have been initiated; representation and voting procedures have been made more equitable; voting has been based on actual bona fide membership, thus eliminating the danger of purely paper organizations being manipulated for purposes of power politics; members have been freed from the fear of personal attack and disciplinary measures arising out of differences of opinion; and the Braille Forum has been kept out of politics and preserved for the use and benefit of the entire membership. Of almost equal importance, we have been fortunate enough to have as our president during these years a man who is the absolute antithesis of the man on horseback type. It would have been hard to have found a man as receptive to suggestion, as tolerant of opposition, and as graceful in accepting criticism as Ned Freeman. Yet he has had the strength and patience to persevere in his own ideas and programs. The preoccupation of ACB with structural and procedural matters is a natural consequence of our origins as a movement in protest against abuses of power. But now that we have our sound democratic structure and a constantly expanding membership, it is time, I think, to give more thought to what it stands for and what we are going to do with it. We have, it seems to me, been unduly timid in declaring both our adherence to broad general principles and in criticizing specific trends and abuses. This, too, could be explained by our past experience. We have been anxious to disassociate ourselves from the kind of unbridled and indiscriminate attacks that have been made in the past on individuals and institutions. Yet we know that there is a wide range in the quality of work for the blind, all the way from selfishness, to mediocrity, to indifference, to competence, to excellence, to dedication. If we are fair in our criticism and generous in our commendation of good work, we should be able to command both respect and influence. We have been quite active in supporting measures which have already received fairly wide acceptance, such as travel concessions on air lines and the abolition of residence requirements for welfare grants. This is all very fine; but I think we have been unduly careful to go along with the crowd and avoid any stand which might involve us in controversy. We know that during the past year some extremely grave criticisms have been levelled by Dr. Merle Frampton against special classes for the blind in public schools in which he concludes that blind children are being cheated out of an education. Dr. Frampton's charges are extremely serious, and they undoubtedly run counter to the trends of the time and will certainly arouse some heated opposition. But an organization like ACB should certainly be concerned with the conditions he describes and with their remedy if one is needed, and we should not hesitate any longer to take a position on this issue. Last year, at Louisville, after considerable debate, a resolution was adopted calling for the initiation of legislation establishing a temporary income tax credit for employers who hire blind workers. I know of no action that has been taken in implementation of this resolution. I hope that the admittedly pioneering character of this proposal will not frighten us into allowing it to languish indefinitely. It seems to me that the only thing which can hold an organization like ACB together is a common devotion to certain broad principles which we will not compromise for the sake of momentary expediency. Few, if any, among us would contend that our blindness alone is a sufficient bond to unite us in the kind of organization we desire. Such a bond would only serve to isolate us as a blind ghetto or enclave, completely separated from the larger community with which we wish to integrate. Nor do we have any such community of interests in this organization such as unite the AAWB and the AAIB in the furtherance of their professional advantage. Our organization comprises such diverse groups as lawyers, teachers, social workers, stand operators and other businessmen, factory workers, people on fixed incomes, housewives, and the entire gamut of economic interests. It would be difficult indeed to devise a program which could appeal to the selfish of all these groups. The only thing which could possibly justify and explain the sacrifices and efforts which all of you have made for ACB is your unswerving devotion to the principles for which you believe the organization stands. To illustrate the kind of adherence to principle which I would hope ACB will demonstrate, I would refer to the principle which I believe is very deeply rooted in ACB philosophy, namely that a blind person is entitled to every opportunity for education, training and employment on equal terms and conditions and with equal opportunities for advancement with all others, and that it should be the obligation of government ... to see that such opportunity is fully provided. We have to recognize that this principle is frequently not supported by the very agencies which are supposed to be concerned with finding employment for the blind or helping them in other ways. As Miss Podell pointed out so forcefully in an article in the January Forum, agencies for the blind themselves all too frequently discriminate against and downgrade blind persons as employees, simply because they do not believe in the capabilities which they are supposed to advertise and promote. Most of us have witnessed this kind of hypocrisy, and perhaps it is time that we tried to do something about it. But we have to recognize also that blind people themselves and their organizations can greatly mutilate the picture of competence and responsibility which we for the most part try to build up. As organizations we should encourage and as individuals discipline ourselves never to accept or condone the inferior status which may be imposed upon us. We have to resist the formidable temptation to use our disability as a crutch which enables us to take the easy way out and avoid responsibility and effort. I think that further than this we cannot as an organization expect to seek preferential privileges by claiming that blindness automatically sets us apart as disabled and at the same time expect to be taken seriously when we demand to be treated on a par with everyone else. We are entitled to a full role on the economic stage and cannot afford to settle for a walk-on part to receive a welfare check when we are able and willing to work. This has not, I know, been a keynote speech in the traditional mold of claiming a monopoly of all virtue for ourselves and launching lethal attacks on the rascally opposition. However, an organization of the caliber of ACB has little to fear from a bit of self-examination and self-criticism; and the fact that I can stand here today and voice these sentiments demonstrates, I think, better than anything else, my attachment to it and my confidence in its future. ***** ** On Sight Seeing -- Impressions By Ora Howerton, Long Beach, California "In vain we look, in vain uplift our eyes to heaven, but if we are blind we see but what the gift of seeing gives us. What we bring we find." Longfellow. Twilight on the beach, lapping waves at our feet make murmuring, singing sounds. Sea music. A lone sea bird sends out a plaintive cry as it wings its way overhead ... "If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea even there": ... A cool salty breeze comes from the indigo-colored ocean making the hot July air soft and pleasant. Reluctantly we return to the car. Twenty miles to the International Airport. Within the hour the jet will take off on a three-thousand-mile flight across the country. The waiting room holds a thrill of excitement ... happy voices of welcoming greeting, a touch of regret in goodbye, the roar of arriving and departing planes. My flight is called. A small panic sets up within me. Alone and blind. "Be still," I tell my heart. "Be still and know." The agent touches my arm. We go out to the plane and up into the cabin. "They shall mount up with wings as of eagles. They shall run and not be weary." Wishing me a happy flight, the agent returns to the station. The great bird vibrates and trembles with life and motion smoothly, steadily upward and outward, leaving the noisy earth­bound city behind. We take to the skyway -- the eagle and I are one. On this night ride through the heavens every moment is precious. Over hills, valleys, lakes and desert, higher and higher over the mighty Rockies through the power of imagery this lonely chain sweeps away to the southward ... stark, barren, silent in changing colors ... rose, violet, blue. A misty white haze at the base where the mountains meet the desert. A break in the chain marks the pass of the river of the North. "El Paso Del Rio Del Norte" the Conquistadores named it. On the sandy banks of the shallow, sluggish stream stand two great cities ... El Paso, Texas on the north, La Ciudad Juarez of old Mexico on the South. Separating the two great countries and two great cultures, the Rio Grande (Great River) pursues its unhurried way, yet are they united spiritually and physically by a bridge of steel. "Those friends thou hast and their adoption tried." Over the loudspeaker is heard, "Fasten your seat belts, choppy air ahead." Below rolls the Father of waters, the big Mississippi, muddy, wide and deep. The old South and the new South are one. Tangled threads of memory, traditions, glamor and beauty struggle with hope, failure, achievement. Bitterness touches the fringe of consciousness smudging the pattern. "Doubtful rights and doubtful wrongs" ... Lord, grant us the gift of love. Gently, gently as a bird settles down on her nest the great winged chariot has come to earth. At the door of the cabin the Delta station agent is speaking my name. Early daylight greets us with fresh morning sweetness. The limousine rushes through the awakening city. In the lobby of the gracious Hotel Biltmore of Atlanta, Georgia, we have come to the ACB Convention. From Vermont to California, from Washington to Florida and all the states between we have gathered to renew our faith and support, to improve the ever-growing importance of the image of the blind. Men and women from all walks of life ... educators, lawyers, judges and men of commerce from the humblest to the greatest work with their sensitive hands and minds. There is no blindness save blindness of the soul. (Some of you will remember Ora Howerton's "Vignettes" about her first ACB convention in St. Louis to which she came alone in 1962. The following letter accompanied the article from this charming little gentlewoman, a former schoolteacher: "'Whatever can a blind person get out of travel?', I often hear. It seems to me that a perceptive blind person gets more out of many things than they that see. I love travel and experience as much pleasure in it as when I could see, perhaps more, for I was often distracted by what I saw as my eyes went from one thing to another. ... I had such a wonderful time in Atlanta. It was a great convention. I did enjoy the Theatre Under the Stars and 'Can Can.'" ***** ** Ned's Corner It Makes My Bread Taste Sweeter Mario had reached that time of life when his employers and friends advised him to call on the Welfare Office. He had worked hard all his life, had raised a family, but now he was living all alone. He visited the office, and the case-worker arranged for a grant which would meet his meager needs for the rest of his life. Directly from the Welfare Office Mario went to a store where he bought a heavy, stiff-bristled push broom; then hunted out the dirtiest street in the city and began to sweep. Eight hours a day, every day, rain or shine, Mario was to be found pushing his broom and humming to himself an old Italian folk song or aria from Verdi or Puccini. He was told that all this wasn't necessary, he had his check every month. "I know," said the old man, simply, "but this makes my bread taste sweeter." Each of us is indebted to others for everything we have -- to our parents, to the Founding Fathers, to the citizens of our community -- in short, to the world and to God. The world owes no man a living; rather, we owe rent for the space we occupy. Whether we are employed or not each of us has a job to do that cannot be done by anyone else, a reason for being that is uniquely ours. One of the most useful citizens I have ever known was confined to her bed for years. Yet, from that bed she brought cheer, inspiration and hope to thousands of lives. "No man is an island; no one lives alone. All that we send into the lives of others, comes back into our own." Having surrendered the first two pages of the Forum to the new ACB president, Loretta and I have retired to our respective corners. I hope the referee doesn't tell us to come out fighting -- at least, not each other! From this vantage point I will be expressing opinions and making observations concerning developments in our special fields of interest. The opinions will be my own and not necessarily those of the other members of the FORUM staff or of ACB officials. Two new features will be found in this issue. "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum" will relate anecdotes passed on to us by you readers. We hope many of you will have a chuckle now and then to share with us. "Refugees from the Round File" will be short announcements, bits of information and comments. Readers are also invited to join us here. A recent news story about a public school "resource" program has bugged me and I invite your comments. The children in this program do all writing with the braille writer. A seventh grader, blind from birth, is only now learning to use the slate and stylus. This seems to us like teaching a child to use the typewriter before he learns to use the pencil. Is a blind child so different from a sighted child? Why shouldn't a group of first grade mothers, going modern, send their children to school with miniature typewriters and throw the pencils and chalk out the window? We are advised that the procedure now being recommended in courses of special education for blind children is to begin with the writer and delay the use of the slate. The only people I know who are truly fluent in braille are those who were brought up on the slate and stylus. And a brailler can hardly be carried around in pocket or purse! I feel we should enter a protest against this apparent relegation of the slate and stylus to the antique museum. ***** ** Specially Able Secretary of Commerce John T. Connor -- April 1966 It is a pleasure to keynote this annual meeting of the President's Committee on Employment of the Specially Able. If you don't recognize this new name for President Johnson's organization, that's understandable. Because technically, it's wrong. But semantically, it's right. It's right because the people we're referring to are able in special ways. They aren't able in every way -- but who among us is? When we survey the limited range of our own individual abilities, and the infinite variety of job possibilities in our complex industrial society, we recognize that each of us has his limitations and would be disqualified for certain fields of endeavor. But on the other hand we are all able in special ways. And in this age of specialization, we can find our particular niches. We want to fit (the specially able) in jobs where they can turn in a performance that is the equal of others. Very often, of course, it turns out that they not only do the job as well, but better, and in some cases, far better. This is why I think that perhaps the first handicap we should overcome is the handicap in our own minds which stems from calling these people handicapped. It not only perpetuates our own centuries-old misconception; our use of it reinforces the misconception in the minds of many employers and prospective employers. Worse still, it doesn't help the mental outlook of the very people we are trying to help. I say a better name, a more descriptive name, a more positive name, and a far more accurate name is the specially able. And that's what I'm going to call them. I also think it is appropriate in connection with the theme for our meeting this year: What's new in jobs for the specially able? Certainly there's plenty that's new -- so much, in fact, that I think we have a greater opportunity to make more real progress in hiring the specially able this year than in any other year in history. The reason stems from a combination of two factors: One is that never has this great movement been so well organized ... The second reason is that not since World War II have the talents of the specially able been so urgently needed. We all know the story of what's behind this fact: an unprecedented era of economic growth that has brought more real prosperity to more Americans than at any other time in our history. Under the dynamic leadership of President Johnson and through a working partnership of business, labor and government, we have made pioneering advances in solving the problems of recession, high unemployment, and declining production. But a high level of prosperity such as we are now enjoying is always accompanied by its own peculiar set of problems, and we are beginning to experience some of them today. One of these is a growing manpower shortage in some areas of industry. It is, of course, imperative that we make the maximum use of our human resources. This is one of our best weapons against the forces of inflation, as we seek to ease unreasonable upward pressures on wages and costs and prices. Today, as we approach the limits of our productive capacity, many employers are searching far and wide for help. The situation exists in a number of industries and trades, so that a wide variety of job opportunities is opening up. Now you and I know that the specially able can meet the requirements to fill many of these openings. But neither all employers nor all the specially able themselves know this. It's our job to make them both aware of each other -- and to help bring them together. And one of the things that has to be done in this hiring of the specially able is to educate the people at the supervisory level -- the people who actually do the hiring and promoting. For many people still nourish misconceptions about those with disabilities. To help with this problem, the officials in our Commerce Department's Office of Personnel have come up with what I think is an excellent idea -- and one that we are carrying out. Working with the Veteran's Administration, our people have produced a kit to aid in training and guiding supervisors in evaluating their job openings and the potential of the specially able to fill these jobs ... (Editor's note: This kit may be obtained by writing to the President's Committee on Employment of the Handicapped, Dept. of Labor Bldg., Washington, D.C. 20210.) ... This booklet reaches the very people who must take the final step -- the actual hiring of the specially able. And without that final step being taken, all the programs in Washington, all the policy statements from corporation presidents, all the training that the specially able receive -- all these are fruitless. Only the supervisor can take that final step, and we must reach him with the most persuasive message we can possibly devise. I think we're going to realize the tremendous potential for progress that 1966 offers only to the extent that we are successful in reaching the local level and the hiring level. Many employers have compiled outstanding records in hiring the specially able -- and they have found them to be just that: specially able. These companies have safety records, insurance savings and high production to prove that their hiring policy in this field is completely sound. Put to the test, the specially able perform as well or better than their colleagues in terms of both quantity and quality of work. They have a lower turnover rate, fewer lost­-time accidents, and favorable attendance records. As a matter of fact, insurance companies even encourage the employment of the specially able in suitable jobs, because they have fewer disabling injuries than other workers exposed to the same hazards. The whole history of the human race is the history of overcoming the obstacles and handicaps of nature through the development of special abilities. This is what the specially able are doing to an uncommon degree, meeting the special challenges of the world by developing special skills. And we know that it also takes special attributes of character to do what they have done -- courage and perseverance and determination in the fullest measure, qualities which stand them in good stead in any line of endeavor. America needs the specially able more than at any time since World War II -- and your job, and mine, is to help them put their skills to work. As President Johnson has said, "In so doing, we can strengthen our Nation, for our strength rests in the participation of all our citizens and not just some of our citizens." ***** ** Feel-and-See Museum From the Lion "The small hands of the born-blind boy stopped when the raised Braille dots spelled out m-o-o-s-e. 'A moose is an animal,' he thought, as he scratched the back of his head. 'But is it like my cat -- round and furry -- or like my turtle -- flat and hard?' The boy continued with the story, but it didn't make sense because he pictured the moose as a combination of his cat and turtle. Now the story does make sense because of his recent visit to the Museum Library for the Blind, created by 35 Lions clubs of District 19-G in Southwest Washington. Some 1,300 Lions have participated in the project so far. The shelves of the Museum Library aren't lined with books. They now contain 2,200 objects of nature, items of historical interest, and tools of science, the household, the farm, business, industry, and sports. "For the blind children, the objects on the shelves convey an accurate touch picture of size, shape, weight and texture of what is described in Braille or denoted by spoken words. The state school for the blind was chosen as the site of the Museum Library, but it was decided that the materials would be available for blind children anywhere. The school children were asked to submit lists of things they had heard or read about but never had 'seen.' The children responded enthusiastically. They asked for model cars and trains and many other miniature representations, as well as a vast number of full-size things including a wind sock, a letter carrier's bag, a fire hose nozzle, a telegraph key and stuffed birds and animals. But they weren't requesting play things. More important than toys, they wanted a glimpse of the world and the physical properties of past and present society. "A committee list was made and sent out to local Lions Clubs for solicitation. ... The operation was reported to the public by local newspapers and radio and television stations tipped off by Lions Club Public Relations Committees. Finally on a cold mid-winter day a caravan of vehicles, filled with the requested items, reached Vancouver for the formal dedication of the Library." ***** ** Encouragement for Blind Scientists By T.A. Benham Associate Professor of Engineering, Haverford College An intelligent blind youngster with a spark of ambition or no longer needs to look to a future of making mops and brooms or caning chairs. A whole raft of new opportunities is open to him in scientific and related fields, provided he has access to a few ingenious aids designed to compensate for his lack of sight, and provided teachers, counselors, and potential employers recognize that by using special instruments he is able to cope with all but a very few of the situations he will meet in the laboratory. Science for the Blind a small, non-profit organization located on the Haverford College campus, has established a program to develop and make available instruments and aids which will enable blind scientists and technicians to play an active and efficient role in jobs formerly reserved for the sighted. Very often the instruments are the same as those used by the sighted, but they have been adapted to give either an aural or a tactile reading. The Simpson Multimeter, for example, an instrument used in testing electronic equipment, has been modified so that a braille scale replaces the visual meter. As the blind technician moves the pointer around the scale, a tone, varying in intensity, indicates the desired reading. This meter is currently being used not only by blind technicians on the job, but also by students working in laboratories. Numerous other instruments have been developed, some of which are also useful to blind people engaged in other lines of work. Second-hand (and therefore inexpensive) calculators have been adapted for braille use. A continuity checker tests circuits in the lab, checks light bulbs and fuses, and tests household currents. A capacitance bridge checks the values of electronic components. Thermometers with various ranges indicate temperature by tone, in the lab, in the photographic darkroom, in clinical practice. In addition to such "stock" instruments, Science for the Blind has facilities to develop, whenever feasible, an instrument to meet any specific need that a blind person working in science or technology might encounter. Of considerable importance to blind persons interested in science or mathematics is the field of computer programming. This particular vocation is so well suited to blind people that only a few aids are really needed. A computer can be easily trained to give braille readout, and with the use of a small light sensor a blind programmer can read the lights on the computer panel. A punched-card reader, developed at the University of Cincinnati, enables him to read the cards fed into the computer and a small tape reader developed by Freiden Co., under direction of Science for the Blind enables him to read punched-tape input. It is extremely important that teachers and counselors of blind students realize the many opportunities available to the blind and see to it that their students are prepared for jobs which are attractive, challenging and compatible with their ability. ***** ** Blind Teenagers Learn to Earn (From the Miami Herald, via the Florida White Cane Bulletin) "The problem of 'no previous experience' is a long-standing one for teenagers looking for their first jobs. But it's even worse for blind-from-birth teenagers. Besides the obvious physical handicap, there are other experience they've never had -- riding a bus to get to and from work, for example, and even the things other teens can take for granted like handling money and making change. A unique program, believed to be the first anywhere, is now going on in Florida. It involves ten youngsters and is designed to fill this gap. Good Will was selected as the work place because it has 20 departments offering different types of work. The teens began at $20 for a 35-hour week and have been given raises 'on merit.' Supervisors report that they see progress not only in their jobs but their personalities." The project is not only filling these experience gaps, it is evaluating the teenager individually and giving him a taste of different areas of work to see what he can do and in which field his vocational potential can be directed. In addition they're getting basic work experience ... making job applications, punching a time clock, learning to comply with company rules, hours, and working with others as well as coping with transportation problems. They earn salaries and eat in the building's cafeteria. "This is not made-up work," the director said. "This is real work, real business, and we make them adhere to all the industrial rules. They know it's not something made up for them." That, she thinks, is a key to its success why the teens are doing "even better than we had hoped." ***** ** Now -- Better Health Care (Taken from HEW bulletin BFS 11-2) The new Federal-State Program of Medical Assistance, authorized by Title XIX of the Social Security Act, promises better health care for people living on low incomes. In effect since January 1, 1966, the new program of Medical Assistance will help more poor people get the care they need but can't afford. The new Title XIX Medical Assistance Program is not Medicare, although it can supplement Medicare. Title XIX seeks to do for children and adults in low-income families what Medicare does for all people over 65. By adopting the new Title XIX Medical Assistance Program, States can receive substantially more Federal funds than they can get under existing programs (Kerr-Mills) that pay for medical care for public assistance recipients. All states must set up the new Medical Assistance Programs under Title XIX by January 1, 1970, or forego all Federal matching funds for medical care on behalf of public assistance recipients. States must include in their Medical Assistance Programs all recipients of public assistance -- the aged, blind, and disabled, and families with dependent children. States can broaden this to include comparable groups who have enough income for daily living but not for medical expenses. States can also include all children under the age of 21 whose parents cannot afford to pay medical bills. But by 1975, to meet Federal requirements and to get Federal funds, States must be providing Medical Assistance to all who cannot afford the care they need whether recipients of public assistance or not. All public assistance groups are entitled to care that is equal in amount, duration, and scope. Whatever is provided for one public assistance group -- for example, the aged -- must also be provided for the others: the blind, the disabled, and families with dependent children. Under the Medical Assistance program, States can provide limited medical services until July 1, 1967, but after that date, they must provide a minimum of five basic services: The First, In-Patient Hospital Care, in facilities that meet Medicare standards. The Second, Out-Patient Hospital Care, which must include diagnostic services to determine illness and may include services to prevent and treat illness. The Third, Physicians' Services, including specialists and consultants, whether furnished in the office, the patient's home, a hospital, a skilled nursing home or elsewhere. The Fourth, skilled Nursing Home Care for persons over 21, admitted by a physician who has prescribed a plan of care. The Fifth, Laboratory and X-ray services as prescribed by a physician. Medical services that are of high quality immediately and comprehensive by 1975, are the goals of the program. A professionally staffed Medical Care Unit will operate the Medical Assistance program in each State. Advisory committees, including physicians, will be consulted on State policies and procedures to make sure that patients receive the care they need and to guard against overuse. If people are to benefit, States must establish federally approved Medical Assistance Programs, thus meeting the legal requirements of fair treatment, prompt action on applications, and high-quality care. To find out what your State is doing, the medical services it provides, and how to apply for them, ... contact your State or local public welfare agency. (Editor's Note: Title XIX prohibits any length of residence requirement for recipients of medical assistance, and also includes dependent children up to age 21. It should be noted that these programs will be available only in those states which by legislative action, or otherwise become committed to carry out this program of comprehensive medical assistance to needy persons. It is recommended that you as individuals and organizations take vigorous action to see that medical assistance is available in your state to all those needing this help.) ***** ** Medical Transcription -- A Challenging Field Although few semi-professional careers offer such challenge and fascination as medical transcription, little or no formal training facilities have been available to help the visually handicapped person enter this field. Each of the 7,000 hospitals in the U.S. employs an average of five medical transcribers. A course especially designed for the visually handicapped student, man or woman, who meets the minimum requirements and desires to capitalize on his abilities, and who will apply himself to master an exacting skill, is now available. The program is approved by the Kentucky Bureau of Rehabilitation, under the State Department of Education, Frankfort, Kentucky. Interested parties from other states should contact the appropriate agencies in their states. Medical Transcription -- What is it? It is the transcriber's job to prepare and type medical reports covering surgery, medical consultations, radiology or pathology studies, discharge summaries, and other procedures. Generally, the physician or surgeon records these case histories on tape. These reports are an important part of hospital records. Accuracy and familiarity with medical terminology are necessary. To acquaint the student with this new vocabulary, actual files from 13 hospitals in the Louisville area are used during the course. These files familiarize the student with every area of medical practice found today and give him an accurate and practical picture of the material he will encounter on the job. Program applicants must be high school graduates with above average vocabulary and spelling ability, and typing speed of 50 words per minute. This course is specifically designed for the visually handicapped person. The instructor and his assistant, both experienced in working with the visually handicapped, will give individual assistance outside the classroom whenever necessary. Tuition for the six-month course, including books, recorders, transcribers, and other material, totals $75 per month. Housing facilities are not available at the school but will be included as total service to the student for an additional $100 a month. For further information, contact: Robert A. Barnes, 909 Denmark Street, Louisville, Kentucky 40215. ***** ** ACB Tape Chatter By John B. Sevier Hi, there: I am the Tape Coordinator of the ACB Tape Club. You can reach me at 449 East 28th Street, Baltimore, Maryland, 21218, with information for inclusion in this column, such as personal descriptions, interests and hobbies, types of tape correspondents desired, recording tracks and speeds, and, in fact, anything which will enable me to make this club your club, responsive to your wishes. There are no dues and few rules, just good taste and a willingness to answer at least an introductory tape if you wish inclusion in the membership roster, which we hope to publish if interest warrants, or in this column. The response to the announcement of the reactivation of the ACB Tape Club after a lapse of several years has been slow but encouraging. I hope that you all will talk up the club among your friends and acquaintances so we all can get the most out of it. Every legally blind ACB member and reader of the Braille Forum is eligible to belong: just send me a tape or a letter. One thing I want to clarify from the start. This club is not trying to compete with existing tape correspondence clubs. However, this is the only club sponsored by a large organization of the blind for the purpose of promoting intra-club discussions of matters of interest to the blind and by so doing making our voice more effective both locally and nationally; naturally, if in the process of so doing, we make some more friends, I do not think any of us will complain! I wish your cooperation in helping the club to grow and become a more responsive voice in the organization. I believe the present list only scratches the surface of the potential interest; some on our list returned blank tapes which may indicate their recorders were out of order. If you do not see your name listed here and would like to become an active member, just let me know and I will include you in a future list. Okay, let's go! David Evenson, 445 40th Street, Oakland, Cal., 94609, is partially blind, a tape enthusiast and carries on "round robin" correspondence; is interested in literature, poetry, writing, legislation, and job opportunities. He has two Norelcoes; four speeds, four tracks. Wayne E. Oswalt, 4445 4th Avenue, Walla Walla, Wash., 99362, sent greetings, but recorder is presently out of order. James E. Sletten, Box 330, Madison, Wis., 53701, is a concession stand operator in the State Office Building, married, 49 years of age, has two children, both married, boys, three grandchildren. Hobbies: tape recording and clock collecting. Has a new stereo deck and would like to get hold of someone who can tell him how to make effective use of it. John P. Nelson, 1209 North 4th Street, Montevideo, Minn., lawyer, active in church, enjoys gardening; 49 years of age, married, has two children; very busy, but will try to answer some tapes if members will be patient with delays. Richard Handby, 1060 North Avenue, Elizabeth, New Jersey, 07201, 43 years of age, a non-believer, his politics are "far left," interested in a select group of persons who will discuss such subjects as economics, sociology, politics, free thought; has two Norelcoes (301 and 401) which are four speed and four track. Well, that's it for now. Some of you did not include recording speeds and tracks. Members could feel safe in sending an introductory tape on 3 3/4 ips dual track until notified otherwise. Hope to hear from you real soon. I will personally tapespond with all comers to get things going. So long! ***** ** A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (Your contributions to this column are requested.) Daisy Smith, Atlanta, tells us: "Shortly after returning from Rochester with my new dog 'Bullet' an acquaintance on the bus inquired, 'Is that the same dog you had? The one that died?'" Fred Gissoni, Lexington, Kentucky, passes this on as reported by a New York abacus student: "In order to occupy my commuting time in a constructive way I carried my portable tape recorder and listened through ear plugs to the tape instructions on the use of the abacus. After I had been doing this for about a week a lady came up to me on the train, saying, 'I've been watching you and trying to figure out just what you are doing and now I think I have the answer! That's a braille Rosary, isn't it?'" ***** ** From Wisconsin (Editor's Note: From the column "Hello Wisconsin," by Miles McMillin in The Capital Times, Madison.) Lunch Tuesday with Editor Evjue and George and Darlene Card gives all of us a chance for one of those rare penetrations of the campus. Also an opportunity for both the Editor and myself to renew an old friendship with two grand people. I don't know how many years the Editor has known the Cards, but my acquaintanceship goes back to Law School days when I, along with everyone else, sat in awe of the blind student who, despite his enormous handicap, was an honor student, was active in politics, a leader in a statewide organization of the blind and a genial companion with a rollicking sense of humor and a golden tenor that brightened up many a student suds soiree. George was an honor graduate of the Law School as well as Letters and Science where he majored in philosophy. The qualities in him which we all admired and envied we also found in Darlene, a wisp of a girl with a giant's heart, a keen intelligence and an endless pool of energy -- his eyes, his chauffeur, his counselor and his wife ... At lunch on the second floor of the Union I was amazed to hear George order beef hash with a poached egg, thinking he would have difficulty handling it. I was more amazed to note the deftness with which he did. The Editor was so impressed he couldn't resist comment about it. George is a candidate for the County Board from the 27th district running on the distinguished record of service he made while serving as a member of the old Board for more than five years. (From a later editorial in The Capital Times.) The people of the new 27th Dane County Board district on Madison's near East Side have a splendid opportunity to make a valuable contribution to the success of the new streamlined Board. ... in the candidacy of George Card. ... an extraordinary man, internationally known for his work in behalf of the blind now serving as Executive Secretary of the Wisconsin Council of the Blind ... his brilliant and thoroughly trained mind has not been put at the disposal of the blind alone. He has worked diligently in political affairs and has served with distinction on the old County Board ... as chairman of the Public Welfare Committee and the Library Study Committee ... He will bring experience outstanding ability, integrity and a progressive outlook to the new Board. (Editor's note -- George won his race! Congratulations!) ***** ** Here and There With George Card From the HOOSIER STARLIGHT: "Legally blind Walter Temple has successfully found self-employment as a tree trimmer and tree stump remover in the city of South Bend. ...The big coffee urn in the stand operated by John Richardson in Indianapolis was almost empty. He saved the last cup for himself and was slowly consuming it when he was startled by the feel and sound of a dull clunk. A passer-by, seeing him leaning on the counter with cup in hand, assumed that he was seeking alms. As a result, a dirty nickel clunked to the bottom of his cup. He warns all Hoosier blind persons to be careful of how and where they hold their cups. ... One of New York's most famous theatrical costume designers, Virginia Holland, saw her chosen career end with the loss of her sight. Among other productions for which she had designed costumes are: Two for the Seesaw, Raisin in the Sun, Time Out for Ginger and Sunrise at Campobello. She had to find another career, and she is now a busy author. Her first book, 'Designing Woman', sold well; and she is now busy on the second -- 'Second Sight'." From the PEORIA OBSERVER: "On March 20, J. Anthony Smythe died. His voice, in the role of Father Barbour ('One Man's Family') was familiar to radio listeners for many years. ... Ed Collins, one of the founding members of the first national organization of the blind in the U.S., died May 31. He was one of the Illinois delegates to the Wilkes-Barre Conference in 1940. ... Fred Lilley and I (Editor, Victor Buttram) have become presidents of our respective Lions clubs in Oaklawn and Peoria Heights Richwoods." The current WASHINGTON STATE WHITE CANE contains a report by President Wesley Osborne, Tacoma, on a national convention which he attended in Louisville in July. Here are two quotations from his report: "It was indicated that affiliates will soon be receiving a generous sum of money each year. It will be similar to that received in past years. The new financial plan will provide for a more positive use of the money. ... 'Panel Discussion, Local and State Organizations of the Blind' -- It was brought out that local chapter's members owning their building can be profitable if properly run, but in most cases it is a mill stone around their necks even though they don't realize it. It was said that often all of their funds were concentrated on the building rather than benefits for the blind in general." ... Also from the WSAB WHITE CANE: "Mr. Harlan Finch, 731 Marcellus Street, Syracuse, N.Y. 13204, is willing to tape anything in his extensive music library without charge for those who send him the tapes." From the OKLAHOMA FEDERATION NEWSLETTER, Wanda St. Clair, Editor: "In the course of the Atlanta convention we visited the Metropolitan Atlanta Association of the Blind. This is a service center formed several years ago by Dr. P.J. Woods, who is now its director. He was formerly from Oklahoma, and Bob Qualls taught him Braille some 30 or 35 years ago. The MAAB'S program includes Service Information; Recreational, Religious, and Social Activities; Orientation and Adjustment; Communication Skills; and Rules of Courtesy for the Blind. The visit was well worth the time and effort. ... A new type of surgery has recently been used in Oklahoma City. Cryo-surgery, as it is called, is a freezing of the eyeball to reduce the pressure of glaucoma. The ophthalmologist who performed the surgery says, 'This cryo-surgery was originally used in cases of retinal detachment. It is unlike most surgery in that it is not destructive and may be used repeatedly without harmful effects.' ... There are more than 1,000 blind students enrolled in colleges and universities throughout the U.S. ... Marvin McDill, of Tulsa, was fatally injured in an automobile accident on July 20. He had been quite active in work for the blind for many years. He was president and the driving force of the Magic Empire Council of the Blind." (Many of us met Marvin for the first time when he was a delegate to the Denver convention in 1949.) From the BLIND ADVOCATE (London): "Three women who are deaf and blind have been given the job of running Rainbow Court, Peterborough, a block of flats especially designed for deaf-blind people. The flats as yet are the only ones of their kind anywhere. ... An international conference on sensory aids and devices for the blind was held in London June 13-17 and was attended by 100 scientists and researchers, of whom 14 were blind. In his opening address, Lord Fraser of Londsdale said he foresaw the day when blind people would have radar equipment to compensate them for their lost sight, and electronic machines which would read the printed word and speak it out loud." The FLORIDA WHITE CANE reports that Bob Allendorf, 1540 N.E. 136 St., North Miami, was elected President of the Florida Federation at its June convention, succeeding R. Larry Thompson of Tampa. ... Also that a German postal worker has invented a teleprinter which will enable a totally blind person to operate a teletype office without any outside assistance. In my own lifetime there have been two blind U.S. Senators (from Oklahoma and Minnesota) and eleven blind members of the House. There have been more than a hundred blind citizens who have become members of various state legislatures. At one time there were three serving in my own state of Wisconsin. More than two hundred blind lawyers have been elected to judgeships and this latter number, of course, includes our distinguished A.C.B. President, Judge Reese Robrahn. At the local level, a large number of public-spirited blind citizens have served either on a city council or a county board. But now for the first time as far as I know, a blind person has been elected to both. She is Frances Cleveland, of Antigo, Wisconsin, a cheerful, outgoing and extremely popular young lady in whom her fellow citizens evidently place great confidence. Vic Buttram, editor of the PEORIAREA OBSERVER, ruminates in the current issue on the oft-repeated charge by players and fans that baseball umpires are blind. He is reminded of this by an incident at Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs, when -- during a heated argument over a close decision -- some fan tossed a white cane out on to the field. The following is an excerpt from an article in the· September ZIEGLER which reviews the recent national convention of the AAWB and especially one of the sessions devoted to the deaf-blind: "What may be a significant result of tentative research by the Anne Sullivan Macy Service is the finding that the mental faculties of certain deaf-blind persons, who have for many years been isolated and allowed to vegetate because of improper diagnosis or inadequate service, are not permanently impaired, but respond and develop readily when exposed to the proper stimuli. Furthermore, deaf-blind persons thus rehabilitated show very little regression. If these findings are confirmed through further experience, the Anne Sullivan Macy Service will have provided science with an important breakthrough in the field of sensory deprivation." In discussing another session, at which recent legislation was considered, the reviewer spoke of "the obnoxious means test."' (This language indicates to me a most gratifying and refreshing change from the time -- not so long ago -- when the means test was regarded as sacrosanct by so many agency people.) H. A. (Pete) Wood of North Carolina received the Shotwell Award and Editor Liechy the Alfred Allen Award. Next year's convention will be in Miami Beach. Banquet speaker at the Kansas convention in October was Dr. Thomas A. Benham, famous blind scientist who is an Associate Professor of Engineering at Haverford College. Dr. Benham was the first blind recipient of a "ham" radio license in 1938 and, in addition to much production work in research in the areas of electronic travel aids and communication, sends out more than two thousand reels of tape each month to those who subscribe to SCIENCE FOR THE BLIND. From the KAB NEWS: "Ann Bancroft has just added another chapter to her close association with the award-winning play, 'The Miracle Worker,' by recording it as a Talking Book." The WASHINGTON STATE WHITE CANE reports that Richard Gustafson, 2407 E. Millplain Blvd., Vancouver, was elected President of the WSAB at its convention on August 6, succeeding Wesley Osborne. From the NAPH PIONEER: "An Italian artist and sculptor, Filippo Massarom has astonished art critics with his accurate bust of a man he has never seen, Paolo Bentivoglio, president of the Italian Union for the Blind. Massarom, totally blind, worked from two photographs on which the features of his subject were outlined by various-sized pins." From an address of the President of the British NFB as reported in VIEWPOINT: "You all know that in 1963 we were largely instrumental in this organization in obtaining the income tax allowance for blind people. ... We always realized that it was not an ideal solution as those who were in most need -- the elderly, the unemployed and the low wage earner with several dependents -- got nothing out of it. ... The financial plight of the overwhelming majority of blind people is very real and we must give this the first priority during the coming year. Although the achievement of a handicap allowance for all Britain's blind may take several years to realize, our Handicap Allowance Campaign Committee is in strong hands and ready for action. ... I am pleased to be able to report that we're making some headway in our efforts to be represented by a delegate on the World Council for the Welfare of the Blind. I think it is essential, if the existence of that organization is to continue and develop as we all hope it will, that the composition of its national delegations should be as broadly and soundly based as possible." From WE THE BLIND (Pennsylvania): "The Telephone Pioneers are developing softballs, basketballs, etc., which emit a steady electronic hum for the use of blind children in their games." ... In this issue President Frank Lugiano announces that his organization now has a comprehensive brochure, which will be widely distributed and which will publicize the history and achievements of the PFB. ... The current issue contains a letter from Tim Seward, former assistant to Congressman Walter Baring of Nevada. In it he writes: "I know that there are still Lions and Lions Clubs throughout the country and even in Nevada that are jealous of the progress the blind have made, and I know that many members of our organization want to help the blind but they want to do it in their own way. They would treat the blind with kindness and affection as they would a pet lap dog but feel that they should be content with the things that they have learned to do with their hands in their work­rooms. ... How inconsistent are we who set aside a day each year to honor the blind and yet are jealous of the progress that they have made. Who profess to work for the blind, but refuse to work with them." ... "Ninety-two years after the charter of the Pennsylvania Working Home for the Blind, the organization took on a new name to conform with its modern-day image. It changed its lengthy label to the shorter, 'The Working Blind' in hopes of projecting an image of the blind at work, helping themselves and a part of the community, rather than as pathetic recipients of charity and good will." From PERFORMANCE: "Not long ago in Tulsa, Oklahoma, doctors discovered a 17-year-old boy with IQ of a genius who had spent two-thirds of his life in a school for mentally retarded. He was deaf. The boy's true mental state was revealed when an employee left a transistor kit on a work table and the young genius, after studying intricate wiring diagrams he could not read, assembled the radio, which played perfectly. He is now attending a school for the deaf where he has had to begin instruction at the primer level. But before long he's expected to be studying at a level his IQ long ago fitted him for." The current issue of LISTEN reports that -- to the intense relief of the blind people of Massachusetts -- a bill has finally been signed into law creating the Massachusetts Commission for the Blind. ... Within a week after signing the bill, Governor Volpe announced his appointment of John F. Mungovan, director of the Division of the Blind for the past 15 years, to the top post of the new agency. It was something of a surprise to learn from the current FLORIDA WHITE CANE, that Larry Thompson is no longer its editor-in-chief, having been succeeded by G. Loy Sumner, of the Dade County Chapter. Larry had made this publication, in my opinion at least, just about the best in its class and he set his standards so high that it will take a bit of doing to equal it. The Campbell Soup Company will supply a Braille Cookbook containing 55 recipes. Write to Volunteers Service for the Blind, 332 S. 13th St. Philadelphia, 19107. ***** ** Dialogue Award Given Kansan Mrs. Breta Cornelius, a deaf-blind resident of Topeka, Kansas, who has devoted more than 40 years of her life to work for the nation's doubly handicapped individuals, has been awarded the first annual Public Service Award by DIALOGUE, a recorded magazine for the blind published in Berwyn, Illinois. Formal presentation of the award was made at the Convention of the Kansas Association of the Blind by ACB President Reese Robrahn. The $100 cash award carries with it a suitably engraved plaque. Both were donated by Ways and Means for the Blind of Augusta, Georgia, one of the benefactors of DIALOGUE and ACB. Mrs. Cornelius founded and devoted a lifetime to editing GOOD CHEER, a Braille Magazine exclusively in the interest of the deaf-blind. ***** ** Letters from Readers From Wm. Lee Jones, Superintendent, Georgia Academy for the Blind, Macon: I have just completed reading the September issue of the BRAILLE FORUM. Again, I wish to tell you that I think this is one of the most helpful and thorough publications in providing practical information that is published in the entire field of work with the blind. You and the other editors are keeping up well with developments over the country, including legislative developments, and are reporting them in readable and interesting form. I should also like to commend you and others in the leadership of the, American Council of the Blind, in making this into an effective organization that is built around the guiding principle of working with other responsible organizations, public and private, to help the visually handicapped people find increasingly effective ways to develop their own potentialities and help themselves, rather than around the welfare or dependency approach. Please accept my personal good wishes. *** From Mrs. Annie-B. Shaheen, Monsey, N. Y. 19052: First, I wish to congratulate you on your splendid work with ACB for the past five years. Also, your part in the BRAILLE FORUM has been most inspiring. I am delighted that you are now its editor. ... Sorry I missed your convention, but could not be in two places at the same time -- at the altar and later farewell parties. It made me extremely happy to have been able to submit the material which won the Ambassador Award for Judge Cates. He is one of our dearest friends. You should have heard the glowing account he gave of the occasion. Said he has never been treated so much like royalty. I want to ask that you discontinue sending the Forum to Mrs. Annie-B Johnson, Burlington. N.C. I am now happily married to Mr. Ernest G. Shaheen, assistant editor of the ZIEGLER MAGAZINE ... and have your magazine here at Monsey. With true appreciation and my prayers for your continuing success. *** From John Norman West, Akron, Ohio: You will be glad to hear that two years ago I was accepted in the rehabilitation counselor training program at Southern Illinois U. I have now completed all the requirements for another master's degree, except for a three-month internship that I plan to start soon. It will be done at the Missouri School for the Blind and the Bureau of Services for the Blind where I'll do counseling, interviewing, testing, placement and follow-up work. When this part of my training is completed in December, I will be out looking for a job again. This time I don't expect to run into the trouble I did when I went searching for employment with my master's degree in political science. I have much more to offer an employer, and my professors tell me rehabilitation counselors are in great demand .... I have made good progress in assembling a collection of books about the blind for a community information center for professional workers and parents of blind children. ... The Center's purpose is to work for the progressive improvement and modernization of public policies and practices governing the health, education, welfare, rehabilitation and employment of the blind. ... You have made a substantial contribution to the efforts we are making on behalf of the blind by sending us ink-print copies of the BRAILLE FORUM. ... (John would like a copy of the first FORUM, April 1962, and the issue of April 1963, if any Forum reader has one.) (Special Note: An ink-print copy of the April 1962 issue has been mailed as requested by the Oklahoma Federation office, which maintains a file of past issues. Only one copy of the April 1963 issue remains in this file, however. If you have one to spare, please mail it to Mr. West.) *** From Mrs. Irving Garfield, Chicago: At the request of our son who is with the Peace Corps in India, I am writing to inquire if you would send a yearly subscription of your magazine to a blind man in Madras, India. This young man is 24 years old ... K. Victor Stevenson, Scinivasan, Mallipudur Village, Malli P.O., Ramnad District, Madras, India. *** From Krishna Rajah, #29 Lorne St., Durban, Natal, South Africa: Thank you very much for enrolling me in your BRAILLE FORUM mailing list. I really enjoy the articles ... provides hours of profitable and happy reading. ... I am a totally blind young man of 23 years. I am here at a boarding school, my eleventh year. My home is about 60 miles from Durban. My matric subjects are English, physical science, physiology and hygiene, typing and physics. My ambition is to be a physiotherapist. I am a Christian and belong to the Pentecostal faith. I am 5 ft 4 in, weight 100#. I enjoy swimming, scouting, reading all types of stories, collecting stamps, post cards ... soccer ... the Beatles, the Stones, Elvis Presley, Cliff Richard, etc. ... I'd be very glad if you will kindly find me some Pen Pals in America ... Good luck in your noble service ... (We hope some of our readers will accept these opportunities for world-wide friendships.) *** Edgar P. Sammons, 902 West Main St., Morristown, Tenn. tells us: My wife and I are totally blind. I work here in a workshop for the blind. These handicapped shops don't pay enough to live on. My wife has 15 quarters, but under the present law she can't draw Social Security. They say she has to have 20 quarters. She is not able to work now. I have been working here for 10 years. I think that all blind people who make under $1.25 an hour should be able to draw Social Security with as little as 6 quarters. There are a few blind people that have jobs at which they can make a living, but not very many. ... I would like to ask all blind people from every state to write their senators and congressmen ... ask them to pass the bill they should have passed last year (the Humphrey-Hartke Amendments). I would also like to hear from blind people who can write braille. ... President Johnson has asked Congress to raise Social Security for the aged. All blind readers of the FORUM should get busy and do some writing. *** Frank Kells, Executive Director of the Phoenix (Arizona) Center for the Blind, reports the death of Emil "Pop" Baertschi in June and adds: "Pop" was about as young an 85-year-old as I have ever known. A bowling champion, he rolled a 124 and 137 on the day before he died. A charter member and founder of the Maricopa County Club of the Blind, ACB affiliate, "Pop" participated in all Center activities, was active in his church and the local "Swiss Club." He often entertained groups singing delightful Swiss folk songs, accompanying himself on the accordion. In the middle of a hearty laugh, while talking to a friend on the phone, he suddenly became ill and said he would call back -- but a minute later he was gone. Mrs. Martha Baertschi's address is 2251 E. Moreland, Phoenix 85006. *** Mary Walton, 1915 Lane St., Topeka, writes: The current FORUM was excellent. I should like to comment particularly on two of the articles appearing therein. I have long wished that someone would write a piece like Miss Janvier's on Braille. It has long been my conviction that the motivator of the newly blinded to go the whole way on the bumpy road to reading is greatly aided or hampered by the presentation of it. ... Some, like Miss Janvier, are highly motivated to start with, and can learn with little more than one visit from a home teacher and a set of Braille instruction books. Others -- and I feel these are a majority, have natural inner resistance to Braille, conscious or otherwise. ... Most of us who use Braille look on it as (1) a blessed convenience or (2) a darn nuisance. We who have grown up with it, and some blinded professional people who have learned to accept and found it an invaluable aid in their work, tend to fall into the former classification, while sighted instructors, many partially seeing persons and even some busy home teachers, tend toward the latter, often unconsciously. And such an attitude just will show through, in their presentation of the system to their clients. .... Mr. Lewis's letter regarding rehab centers, on the other hand, made me a little angry. He may be right in some measure. His success in the rehabilitation of clients without sending them to orientation centers may have had some assists in his state which other states do not provide -- an adequate home teacher setup, for instance. ... this grouping with other blind persons which Mr. Lewis so denounces may be the only salvation for some. I spent a year at the Center in Topeka, and my experience was such a positive one that I would like to share some of it with you and the readers of the "Forum" in reply to Mr. Lewis' denunciation. I was the type of client that some centers reject -- age 35, congenitally blind, educated in the school for the blind, and a college graduate. But our center rejects no one unless their physical health will not permit them to participate in the rather strenuous program of activity. The group I knew was an interesting cross-section of all ages, backgrounds and degrees of experience with blindness. ... One of the first things I learned was that even I, with all my vaunted education, lacked a good deal when it came down to basic living skills, and the last thing I learned was that I still had a long way to go, but that the road lay out before me, and would be easier with the tools and skills acquired at the Center. As to Mr. Lewis' charge that the center tends to put people into a blind class, I say, is that so wrong? One elderly man ... had struggled with an eye problem all his life, asking no concessions, but under the constant need of ... finding ... excuses to get up to the front of the room in school in order to see what the teacher had written on the blackboard. After a week in the center he remarked ... , "I have felt more at ease here this week than I had in a long time." His first night with us, someone had started a domino game which he joined hesitantly, discovering that, after many years, he could still play and quickly regaining his old proficiency with the raised-dot set. A widow, blind for twelve years, came just a few months after the death of the husband upon whom she had been totally dependent. She has often said that one of the most important things she had gained from the center did not come from the scheduled activities but from the group with which she lived in the dorm -- the ability, which she had thought lost to her forever, to laugh again. One young man, at 21, had never been to school a day in his life. He had a mind that wouldn't quit, and could talk about current events like a radio commentator -- and little wonder, for all he knew had come from the radio and TV. He knew none of the ordinary living skills that we take for granted, such as making a bed, hanging clothes on hangers, etc. More important, he had to learn the art of living in a world with no parents-in-waiting. I shall always believe that much of his wonderful progress in the center came about because he was with others who were struggling with some of the same problems he had to face, and were encouraging him on in a way that his instructors could not do. ... One of man's greatest needs in any time of adversity is to know that he is not walking the road alone -- that others have gone before him and come out of the fog into the sunshine; that is, even now, are going that same road with him. Mary Bowen pointed out ... that an individual's success in adjustment to blindness depends to a great extent upon the concept of a "blind person" which he had built up before losing sight. I feel that, at least as important as the actual training program in an orientation center is this very living together with other blind persons which Mr. Lewis has taken issue with, in enhancing the positive or changing the negative image an individual might have of a person, helping him to see much of himself, and thus aiding the adjustment process. ***** ** His "Handicap" Is an Advantage (From WISCONSIN STATE JOURNAL -- AP Winnipeg) George Cohen of Montreal sees his handicap as an advantage in his job as public relations officer, fashion writer, and adviser to Canadian dress designers and hairdressers. "No one ever forgets me." Cohen, on a cross-country tour for a client, explained that he has been totally blind for 20 years. He was a professional dancer when he lost his sight at 27 because of glaucoma. In the next three years his sight returned more than 60 times before he became permanently blind in 1944. While in a hospital in 1945 Cohen was given plasticine to exercise his hands. "I soon found I could simulate the shape of people's heads in clay more rapidly than the average sculptor." He submitted one of his plasticine works to a committee at the Montreal Museum. The judges, unaware he was blind, awarded him a scholarship to study under some of Canada's leading sculptors. "I knew then there need be no limitations to my life, and I began to be interested in the world of business and writing. Pretty soon a Montreal newspaper asked me to write a regular column of humor. For my material I just wandered around listening to people talk and wrote them up the way I heard them. My readers never knew of my affliction, and I had a wonderful time." ***** ** Refugees from the Round File In line with Mary Walton's comments (Letters from Readers) about the non-use of braille, Julie Bindt, Berkeley, California, herself a home teacher, writes in a letter appearing in the HOME TEACHER magazine: "I contend that braille is a tool for reading and writing that is needed by every well-adjusted blind person. I am wondering if this attitude (reluctance to learn braille) comes about because braille teachers do not elaborate on the possible uses for braille, instead of merely giving the signs and leaving it up to the individual to find uses for braille. I think the student should know about calendars, maps, playing cards, labels of all types, braille marked games, recipes, and handicraft patterns, diet charts, address files, etc. It certainly should be quicker to get a phone number from alphabetized braille cards than by listening through a recording that cannot be kept alphabetically. ..." The Ann Sullivan Centennial celebration has spurred new interest and activity in the area of work with the deaf-blind. Several 16 mm color or b/w films, with sound track, have been produced. The following may be had on free loan through Campbell Films, Academy Ave., Saxtons River, Vermont: "Children of the Silent Night," "There is a Silver Lining," (Featuring deaf-blind adults) and "The Perkins Story." The President's Committee in cooperation with the Veterans Employment Service of the Department of Labor have produced an interesting booklet titled "Guide to the National Parks and Monuments for Handicapped Tourists." Attention is given to the availability of the various park areas and facilities to persons in wheel chairs. At many points interpretative talks are given and one instance was noted where the talk would be made in the manual language of the deaf upon request. This may also be obtained from the President's Committee. Cathy Skivers, president of the Associated Blind of Calif­ornia, appeared in a UPI photo released on National White Cane Safety Day, October 15. We saw it on the front page of the ATLANTA JOURNAL! The picture showed Cathy with her small son Grant at the piano. Speaking of WCSD, the Bainbridge, (Ga.) Chapter, GFB, put on a good publicity campaign which began a few days earlier when they were represented by an attractive float in the annual Ports Celebration in that city. They also manned a concession stand which proved quite successful. Requests for the tape copy of "Using the Cranmer Abacus for the Blind" continue to come in from far and wide. To date nearly a hundred tapes have been sent to schools, libraries and rehabilitation centers, as well as to individuals, in states throughout the country and to India and London. For the complete book with practice exercises, one full 1800 ft. reel of tape, plus an additional 400 ft. tape for the exercises, is required. You may send us the necessary amount of tape and we will make copy for you without charge, or we will furnish both reels of tape for a total charge of $2.75. Requests should be sent to Ned Freeman, Forum Editor, 136 Gees Mill Road, Conyers, Georgia 30207. The FORUM office frequently receives braille correspondence, portions of which we are unable to read because the raised dots have been crushed in the mail. We can usually guess at the intent of the message, but addresses, especially those from foreign countries, cannot be guessed at. May we suggest that our braille correspondents take the additional precaution of seeing that the return address is printed clearly on the envelope or outside wrapper. We have found cardboard tubes such as those in paper towels very satisfactory for mailing braille material, or crumpled paper to form a core inside the rolled letter will help eliminate crushing. ***** ** A.F.O.B. Expands Its Program The American Foundation for Overseas Blind Bulletin announces that the A.F.O.B., in the first year of its second half-century, is making a bold effort to meet the enormous needs of the blind people of Asia, Africa and Latin America. In Asia, particular attention is being given at this time to Lebanon, Israel, Syria, Malaysia, Thailand and Taiwan (Formosa). Recently M. Robert Barnett, executive director of the A.F.O.B., made a month-long tour of eight countries in Latin America. He studied the effectiveness of existing programs and investigated the areas of most pressing need for new projects. In Africa, where 1/10 of the world's blind population is found, and where the percentage runs 20 per M (as compared with 2 per M in the U.S.), much effort will be concentrated in the former French colonies where almost nothing is being done for the blind populations. All of these overseas projects are on a strictly self-help basis. Members of the A.F.O.B. staff will demonstrate how it can be done with the expectation that ultimately the work will be taken over by local volunteer and governmental agencies. ***** ** ACB Officers and Directors President: Reese H. Robrahn, 541 New England Building, Topeka, Kansas 66603 1st Vice President: Ned E. Freeman, 136 Gee's Mill Rd., Conyers, Ga. 30207 2nd Vice President: David Krause, 4628 Livingston Rd., SE, Washington, D.C. 20032 Secretary: Mrs. Alma Murphey, 4103 Castleman Ave., St. Louis, Missouri 63110 Treasurer: F.W. Orrell, 5209 Alabama Ave., Chattanooga, Tenn. 37409 ** Directors Mrs. Mary Jane Schmitt, 55 Queens St., Rochester, N.Y. 14609 R.L. Thompson, 104 W. Hanlon St., Tampa, Fla. 33604 Fred C. Lilley, 53 W. Jackson Blvd., Chicago, Illinois 60604 J. Edward Miller, 2661 Chesterfield Ave., Charlotte, North Carolina 28205 George Card, 605 S. Few Street, Madison, Wisconsin 53703 Vernon Williams, 217 Western Union Bldg., Aberdeen, S.D. 57401 Mrs. Catherine Skivers, 836 Resota St., Hayward, California 94545 Floyd Qualls, Post Office Box 1476, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma ###