The Braille Forum
Vol. VI January 1968 No. 4

Published Bi-Monthly by the
American Council of the Blind
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

* Editor:
Ned E. Freeman 
136 Gee's Mill Rd. 
Conyers, GA 30207

* Associate Editors:
George Card
605 South Few St.
Madison, WI 53703

Earl Scharry
5714 Ridgeway Ave.
Rockville, MD 20851

* Executive Office:
ACB Board of Publications
652 East Mallory Ave.
Memphis, Tenn. 38106

* President:
Reese Robrahn
329 Woodbury Lane
Topeka, KS 66606

To inform its readers and to provide an impartial Forum for discussion.

*****

** 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.

The BRAILLE FORUM is available in braille, large type and on tape, 7-inch, dual track, 3-3/4 ips. Miss June Goldsmith, 652 E. Mallory Avenue, Memphis, Tennessee 38106, should be notified of any change of address or of any person desiring to receive the braille or large type editions. 

The tape edition may be obtained from Ned 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

A Washington Office for ACB, by Reese Robrahn 

The Golden Gate in '68!, by Juliet Bindt 

Space Science Spin-Off

Opportunities with Uncle Sam 

Federal Employment Policy 

From Recipient to Productive Citizen 

The Future of the Randolph-Sheppard Stand, by Douglas C. MacFarland 

Illinois Relative Responsibility Law, by Bradley Burson 

Experiment in Attitude Changing, by Herbert Rusalem 

A New Day for the Home Teacher 

Without Which -- Nothing, by Ned Freeman 

An Encouraging Development 

What is the Burton Bill? 

A Quarter Century of Service 

Vision Through the Skin 

A Preschool Program for Deaf-Blind Children 

Ned's Corner 

A Fruitful Pilgrimage, by Rosemary Distifan 

Camping Fun 

Social Security Amendments of 1967, by Durward McDaniel 

Do You Need a Mathematical Genie? 

Here and There with George Card 

Letters from Readers 

Refugees from the Round File

AB Officers

Directors

*****

** A Washington Office for ACB
By Reese Robrahn

Since the beginning of its existence, I have looked forward to the day when the leadership of the American Council of the Blind could establish a full-time Washington office. While I am not among those who believe that an organization concerned with legislation on the national level is impotent unless it maintains a full-time legislative representative at Washington, it is my belief that maximum effectiveness of a national organization can be attained only through the utilization of centralized office facilities and services manned by an appropriate complement of administrative and clerical staff. 

Accordingly, my satisfaction and pleasure are bound less on this occasion when I announce that the American Council will inaugurate the operation of its Washington office sometime prior to the first of July of this year. 

With equal pleasure I also announce the selection of Durward K. McDaniel of Oklahoma City as the administrator of the office with the title of National Representative. 

For those of you who are not acquainted with Durward McDaniel or are not familiar with his background, I can say that we are most fortunate indeed to secure the services of this highly qualified and experienced man. At present 9 he is engaged in the general practice of law at Oklahoma City, and he has been actively engaged in organizational work with the blind throughout his adult life, having served in virtually every conceivable capacity in the organized blind movement. One of his greatest contributions to the American Council has been made as Chairman of our Legislative Committee. In his new capacity as our National Representative, he will serve also as our legislative representative. 

With the establishment of our Washington office, the American Council will be in a position to realize our overall aim, which justifies our existence, to be of service to all people who are blind -- to individuals and organizations. Some of our specific plans will be detailed to you in this column in later issues. Look for them! They may be vital to you and to your organization! If you have suggestions as to how the American Council can be of greater service to you and to your group, please take the time from your schedule and activities to pass them along to me at this address: 539 New England Building, Topeka, Kansas 66603.

I cannot conclude this message without making the following observations and remarks which relate so closely to the subject of this message.

In our November '67 issue of the BRAILLE FORUM, there appears an article entitled, "Railroading -- Again!", by Frank Lugiano, long-time highly respected leader of the Pennsylvania Federation of the Blind. The article is a report of the unseating of the legally constituted delegation from the Alabama Federation of the Blind to the July 1967 convention of the National Federation of the Blind, and consequent disenfranchisement of the Alabama Federation as the affiliate member from the State of Alabama. Additional information and background on this debacle may be found in the same issue of the BRAILLE FORUM in "Ned's Corner."

The last paragraph of Frank Lugiano's article reads as follows, "The silent vote was further evidence of NFB's present policy of 'mob rule,' and as long as this policy is permitted, the blind of our country stand in danger of helplessly watching true darkness come upon them."

Perhaps it is out of a sense of loyalty to that shaft of light that first penetrated the darkness of public ignorance and apathy concerning problems of the blind, which was once the NFB, that far too many sincere, honest, free-spirited leaders of the organized blind have persisted far too long in the cold and sterile afterglow of that light that once was. We of the American Council harbor no fear of impending darkness, nor will we permit that shadow to be cast upon the blind of this country, but we cannot annex your organization and we cannot force you to join our friends, and we would not so choose if that were possible, for ours is an organization of free choice.

The procedure for affiliation with the American Council of the Blind is quite simple. We compel no one to conform, and we impose no shackling or principle compromising affiliate standards. Any organization which has at least 25 voting members, the majority of whom are blind, may apply for affiliation upon an application form provided, accompanying the same with a certified list of members and dues of 20 cents per member. Copies of our constitution and bylaws and application forms will be provided upon request.

*****

** The Golden Gate in '68
Juliet Bindt, ACB P.R. Chairman

"California Here We Come!!" The Associated Blind of California hopes this will be the song sung during the next few months by members of the American Council of the Blind and interested friends as they plan to attend the Seventh Annual Convention of ACB in San Francisco from Wednesday, July 17, through Saturday, July 20, 1968.

The headquarters hotel will be Hotel Bellevue, 505 Geary Street, San Francisco, California, 94102, and rooms have been set aside in nearby hotels at the same prices. Singles will be $12.00 and doubles $16.00   believe it or not, this is reasonable for San Francisco. Since there is such a demand for rooms, we urge any person who feels there is a good chance of his attending to make reservations with the hotel. Please send a copy of your request for reservations to Registration Chairman, Mrs. Ferne Pritchard, 400 Adams Street, Albany, California 94706, so that ABC, your host affiliate, can have some idea as to how many will be attending.

General chairman is Mrs. Catherine Skivers, President of the Associated Blind of California, 836 Resota Street, Hayward, California 94545. She suggests that since California has so many points of interest, some of you may want to take time for sightseeing. If she can help with suggestions or planning, she will gladly try to do so. As the program is still being developed, she would be interested in having you say what might be of most interest to you: huge redwood trees, "topless" nightclubs, Chinatown, a cruise on beautiful San Francisco Bay, or trips to any of the many agencies for the blind in this area. Suggestions will also be welcomed as to topics for program discussion. We'll get in what tours we can, along with some outstanding speakers and entertainers from our glamorous city by the Bay -- often termed the most beautiful in the world.

In making your plans for transportation, be sure to check excursion rates, which represent a very a material saving. Any good travel agent will be glad to help you plan your trip to include any side trips you might want to make. They have full information concerning rates and facilities. There is no charge to you for their services.

Make your reservations now to insure having a room in the convention hotel.

*****

** Space Science Spin-Off
(From the Missouri Chronicle -- September 1967)

The young woman lies motionless in bed, paralyzed from her shoulders to her toes. For years she has been almost completely dependent on others for her slightest needs.

But now, thanks to the "magic glasses" she's wearing, she can do all sorts of things -- control the lights, feed herself, adjust the air conditioner, turn on the TV, select a channel, and so on. She can even venture out in an electric wheelchair. The girl signals to her glasses by moving her eyeballs, thus regulating a series of electric switches. These magic glasses are a civilian's windfall from our multi-billion-dollar space program. To be ready commercially within a year, they're one more entry on a constantly growing list. 

Among the fabulous developments that have come to everyday life from space research, such items as the weather and communications satellites have been well-publicized. But there's a host of others, especially in the field of medicine, waiting to spring into general use. A few samples: A TV camera so tiny it can be dropped down your throat to study your ulcers ... an ultra-sensitive device to detect the now undetectable first faint muscle quivers of dread Parkinson's disease ... a heart examination table that escapes all foreign vibrations by suspending the patient on a sheet of air ... a versatile electronic system that can keep watch on 128 intensive care patients at one time and "shout" an alarm if one needs instant attention.

There's even an expectation that from space research adaptations, blind persons will someday be able to "see" -- not as normal persons do, but well enough to get around alone far more easily than they can today.

Says James W. Wiggins, technology utilization chief for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama: "All over the country, from Massachusetts to California, from Florida to Washington State, scientists are working on NASA contracts. These assignments are space assignments, but of benefit to everybody. Literally, we never know what new civilian use will turn up next."

The magic glasses, for example, were developed by Hayes International of the City Investing Company to help astronauts reach the moon. Space experts worried that peak thrust might hinder the astronaut's ability to use his hands, or that in emergencies the space flier might have to do more things simultaneously than two hands could manage. So they figured out a way for him to do things by maneuvering his eyeballs. This now means a brighter life for many physically handicapped persons, including the girl paralyzed from shoulders to toes. Each lens frame of the "sight switch," as the glasses are called, is rigged with a tiny flashlight and photodetector. The flashlight beam, so faint that it causes no irritation, aims at the girl's upper outside eyelid. Normal use of the eyes produces no result. But when the girl wants action, she looks outward and upward in a slightly exaggerated manner. The photodetector, up to now receiving reflected light from the skin of the eyelid area, suddenly gets a decreased reflection from the darker iris, which has moved into the target area.

With all these developments piling up, Wiggins of NASA claims he's losing his faculty of surprise. He's seen so many miracles from space research that he fully expects more tomorrow.

"I don't believe there's any doubt that within 15 years or so a blind man will be able to go into a store and buy a pair of artificial eyes," says Wiggins. "There'll be some sort of radar rig on hi s head shooting beams out in front of him. The beam will bounce back to a tiny TV lens eye that will somehow be hooked to his optic nerve. He won't see as you and I do, but he'll see lines and mass and be able to maneuver easily.

"I think we've all got to concede that space research has become far more wonderful than we ever dreamed it would be."

*****

** Opportunities with Uncle Sam
(From Rehabilitation Record -- September 1967)

Almost every week the number of blind persons working for the Federal Government increases. Well over 100 are employed in a variety of tasks in the Washington, D.C. area alone in professional as well as subprofessional duties.

A recent advancement in Government jobs for the blind resulted from a pilot project sponsored by RSA and the Internal Revenue Service at Arkansas Enterprises for the Blind, in which blind persons were trained to assist taxpayers calling for help in preparing income tax returns. As a result of the pilot program, tax assistors have been hired in Little Rock, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. This venture has opened a new avenue that could expand into other assisting services that inform about government programs.

Another first happened in July when a totally blind young man went to work for the Social Security Administration as an actuary (one who calculates insurance risks and premiums). He was a client of the New York State agency for the blind.

(Photographs accompanying the article show an electronics engineer for the Federal Communications Commission; a tax assistor for the Internal Revenue Service; a programmer for the State Department; a chemist for the Food and Drug Administration; and a switchboard operator for the Department of the Interior.)

*****

** Federal Employment Policy

In 1961 President Kennedy reaffirmed the federal government's policy relative to the employment of handicapped persons in the executive departments and agencies when he said: "Utilization of physically handicapped persons in productive employment is sound and necessary, both for the contribution handicapped citizens can make to our national productivity and of the sense of independence and well-being which they can derive from doing a job.

"It is fitting that government, as an employer, should lead the way in selective placement of physically handicapped persons so as to utilize their skills and abilities, and I, therefore, reaffirm the established employment policy of the Executive Branch as follows:

"1. Physical standards will be fair, reasonable, and adapted to the realistic requirements of jobs.

"2. An opportunity will be provided for a fair appraisal of pertinent qualifications of physically handicapped applicants and employees.

"3. Physical abilities of handicapped persons being considered for examination, appointment or reassignment will be appraised in relation to the essential physical requirements of jobs.

"4. Employees who acquire disabilities as a result of work injuries, off-the-job accidents or disease conditions will be given full opportunity in re-employment or in transferring to other more suitable jobs.

"5. Recourse to unduly prolonged or permanent benefits under the Employment Compensation Act should be avoided whenever possible. Disability retirement should be considered only after every possible effort at reassignment has been made.

"I ask that all levels of administration and supervision in the Executive Branch take part in the implementation of this policy. Federal agencies should take such action as is necessary to bring about an understanding and application of the policy by all appointment officials and others who have responsibilities in hiring or reassignment of employees. In addition, agency management should make a periodic review of the manner in which the policy is being carried out.

"The Civil Service will continue to coordinate all phases of this program and will prepare periodic reports of agencies' accomplishments in affording increased employment opportunities to those who are handicapped."

*****

** From Recipient to Productive Citizen

Six former public assistance recipients who have 
become self-supporting following work experience and training programs were given special recognition Friday, December 8, in ceremonies at the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare. Mary E. Switzer, administrator of HEW's new Social and Rehabilitation Service, said that the six persons scheduled to receive Citations of Outstanding Achievement are representative of nearly 56,000 public assistance recipients who have found jobs immediately after completing work training projects or have gone on to advanced training. 

The trainees who were recognized -- two men and four women -- were commended for their diligence in learning a skilled trade and their increasing excellence of performance on the job. They represent six families with a total of 29 children. Altogether, the families were previously being helped with a total of about $16,000 a year in public assistance payments; they are now earning over $30,000 a year. Following their training, these people are now employed as a welder, a licensed stationary engineer, two as nurse's aides, a general office clerk, and a county deputy treasurer.

Work training projects are operating in all States and territories except Alabama. Most trainees are needy mothers and fathers with dependent children. They are poverty stricken, unskilled, untrained, part of the hard-core unemployed, and handicapped by inadequate education. Many are functionally illiterate. Less than 21% of all trainees have completed high school. Approximately 33% of all trainees have never held a job for as long as 6 months.

Federal funds to support the work training projects are authorized by Title V of the Economic Opportunity Act and administered by the Assistance Payments Administration, Social and Rehabilitation Service, Department of Health, Education and Welfare.

*****

** The Future of the Randolph-Sheppard Stand
Dr. Douglas C. MacFarland
(Excerpts from a speech delivered to the AAWB Convention)

A long time ago we learned that the greatest potential growth in the vending stand program was in private enterprise, and for the last ten years the number of stands outside federal properties has more than doubled those on federal properties. This is a great tribute to those who manage the vending stand programs throughout the country and certainly indicates that our program can be very competitive when necessary. Competition within the past five years, however, has become so fierce both within and outside government installations that we must take a hard introspective look at our program if we expect to hold our gains and increase them in the coming years.

Let me point out a few spots in which I think we are deficient. These may not apply to many individual programs, but they certainly are factors in the national picture. Even in stands operating at what some consider top efficiency, there is room for improvement.

Programs must be devised throughout the nation, not only for the training, but for the retraining and continual upgrading of operators already in the program. Such training programs should include, at a minimum, instruction in merchandising, ordering of stock, recordkeeping as required, customer relationships, how to accept good supervision, self-help, and self-improvement. Training should extend over a period of at least six months, perhaps a year. To some, this may come as a shock, but if we are to fill the many opportunities available to us, we must get down to the serious business of adequate preparation of operators.

The Randolph-Sheppard Act is not only a great opportunity for blind persons, but it also is extremely important to our entire Vocational Rehabilitation program. It has often been referred to as "The Showcase of the Blind," and as such it is imperative to keep the image high. The new Vocational Rehabilitation Amendments of 1965 contain all the components to do the job that is necessary. We certainly hope that you will take advantage of them.

Any proposal purporting to amend the Randolph-Sheppard Act will have to come to grips with the definition of a vending stand. Some of the questions which will be raised and which we must resolve are:

- Should large cafeterias and dining rooms be considered vending stands?
- What foods can be prepared and dispensed at a vending stand? Etc., etc.

Amendments should consider the setting aside of funds and the four purposes for which they may be set aside. Perhaps the original purposes should be altered and strengthened in light of new Vocational Rehabilitation Amendments which provide additional monies for management and supervision. Some thought should be given to the idea of providing more equitable work opportunities for capable blind persons in the program. There is a great need for deciding on a legal basis the ratio of blind and sighted persons who work in a vending stand. We recognize that in many instances sight is required, but we feel that the program would be more understandable to the public if some reasonable percentage could be spelled out.

I have managed to present numerous problems but few solutions. At HEW we subscribe to Secretary Gardner's belief that problems are opportunities in disguise. We in the federal office stand ready to help in any way possible, but in the final analysis the job that is done and the strength and growth of the vending stand program will depend on the extent to which state agencies continue to take advantage of all resources available to them.

*****

** Special Notice

We are advised by Mrs. Mable Richardson of Dallas, Texas, that Congressman Joe Poole of Dallas will look into alleged irregularities in the allocation of proceeds from 
vending machine in federal buildings. Anyone having pertinent information is urged to write immediately to Congressman Joe Poole's Washington office, House Office Building, Washington, D.C.

*****

** The Illinois Relative Responsibility Law

(From a letter by Bradley Burson, Chairman of the Legislative Committee, Illinois Federation of the Blind, to the Director, Illinois Department of Public Aid)

Any attempt to spell out in legalistic detail the specific conflict of opinions would only serve to submerge the salient points, namely, that the legislation is discriminatory and deprecating to every blind person in the State of Illinois. In substance, the bill defines the responsibility of persons to provide medical care for their relatives prior to the State's assumption of this obligation. So long as the statute was uniformly applicable to any and all applicants for this type of public aid, one could not readily make a case for discrimination, but the language of the bill is unequivocal. (The bill in question adds to the responsibility of a spouse or the parent of a minor child the following:) ... The parent or parents of a child who is aged 21 or over and blind or permanently and totally disabled and (1) has been continuously dependent, in whole or in part, upon one or both of his parents, and (2) has continuously resided in the home of a parent except for temporary absences for medical care or rehabilitative training.

Totally disregarding any other considerations, the discriminatory character of the language is painfully obvious. Blind citizens are singled out as a special sub-set of the specified population, grouped with those considered to be "totally disabled" and then made subject to conditions of eligibility not imposed upon the majority of the group. No clearer case can be demonstrated of a law which denies equal rights under the law.

I have pointed out that we believe the discriminatory character of the bills are in violation of constitutional rights; as you know, such an issue can only be determined after court trial and appeal. The Federation cannot serve the function of legal advocate; the persons who carry the burden of its program are independent and but volunteers and our meager budget could not sustain such an effort. We can only hope that the social sensitivity and moral conscience of legislators and administrators such as yourself will move them to champion our cause.

One attribute of a dynamic society is the presence of a statistically distributed sub-culture of persons who are not as well equipped to participate as the rest. One property of an enlightened society is a facility whose function is intended to compensate these disadvantages to the end that these persons may achieve full participation. It is the purpose and justification for the existence of your facility -- the Department of Public Aid.

Blindness is a severe and unique handicap which couples together an extreme physical limitation and the psychologically corrosive consequence of an ancient public image of despair and uselessness. The consequences of this image are not merely psychological and emotional; they are real and devastating. Because of it, employers refuse opportunities to fully qualified and proficient blind workers. Our task, yours and mine, every member of the Federation and of the Legislature, is to elevate this level of performance. These people are handicapped, yes -- but not disabled. As I pointed out in my statement to the Senate Committee and to you, there are two indispensable elements before the handicap of blindness can be compensated -- superb professional training so that job performance can be unquestionably above the average; and, secondly, a personal sense of self-confidence and self-respect so that the offensive and degrading burden of public misunderstanding can be withstood and negotiated.

*****

** Experiment in Attitude Changing
Herbert Rusalem, Ed.D.
(From the Journal of Rehabilitation, May, 1967)

We are coming more and more to appreciate how tremendously the attitudes of the public toward the severely disabled influence their employment, social adjustment, and self-concept.

A basic unanswered question in rehabilitation is: What would be the effect of a planned program of attitude change upon the attitudes of a defined sample of nondisabled persons in the community?

In conjunction with a VRA-sponsored research and demonstration project at the Industrial Home for the Blind concerning the development of regional rehabilitation services for deaf-blind persons, experiments have been conducted with various groups of nondisabled adults in an attempt to ascertain the effects of various attitude change procedures upon feelings toward deaf-blind persons.

The experiment reported in this paper was conducted in a girls' parochial high school located in Brooklyn, N.Y. The project research team administered deaf-blind attitude questionnaires to 450 juniors and seniors.

After scoring the questionnaires the staff identified two groups of students: (1) a high-scoring group of 14 students with the highest attitude scores, and (2) a low-scoring group of 14 students with the lowest attitude scores. The high-scoring students regarded deaf-blind persons favorably and the low-scoring ones regarded deaf-blinds persons negatively.

Both groups, functioning independently, were given a special program consisting of six one-hour sessions conducted semi-weekly for a period of three weeks. The 28 selected participants were assigned to the sessions by the school; they had no choice in the matter.

The negative attitude group consisted of girls who seemed less alert, less socially aggressive, and less independent than the positive attitude group.

The program consisted of the following activities:
- Session 1: An orientation session which explored the students' feelings about deaf-blindness. 
- Session 2: An introduction to the problems of deaf-blindness and instruction in the manual alphabet.
- Session 3: First planned meeting with a deaf-blind person and further instruction in the manual alphabet.
- Session 4: Practice in the manual alphabet with the project staff.
- Session 5: Actual communication with deaf-blind persons.
- Session 6: Summary and evaluation.

In evaluating this study, it was found that: From the beginning, the positive attitude group participated enthusiastically in all aspects of the training process, asking numerous questions and freely sharing personal experiences with each other. On the other hand, the negative attitude group was relatively reticent, wary, and suspicious. However, during the third session when both groups met a deaf-blind person for the first time, the negative attitude group began to thaw. Although these students' enthusiasm and participation failed to reach the level attained by the positive attitude group, the change in their overt behavior was dramatic. They began to relate to the project staff in a more relaxed manner, and became markedly less inhibited in their participation.

This change seemed to be coincident with the initiation of face-to-face contacts with deaf-blind persons. In follow-up interviews, students in the negative attitude group described their apprehension about meeting a deaf-blind individual for the first time. In fact, as time passed, the members of the negative attitude group reported that they began to look forward to subsequent contacts with deaf-blind persons. Indeed, when the program terminated, some of these students were eager for additional self-initiated contacts. The positive group, on the other hand, had few initial concerns about meeting a deaf-blind person, perceiving such meetings as broadening experiences.

Although it would be difficult to translate these findings into practical plans for influencing mass attitudes, the data do suggest that further investigation in their area is warranted. Public attitudes can constitute a deterrent to the education and rehabilitation of some severely disabled persons. We must move beyond the stage of merely describing these attitudes, and design and implement programs with the objective of modifying such attitudes in a positive direction. This study, although confined to one small experiment in deaf-blindness, suggests that it probably is possible to engineer modest changes in orientation even with limited available resources.

*****

** A New Day for the Home Teacher
(From the New Outlook for the Blind)

"Home teaching is coming of age as a profession. The pioneering days are about over, and the need for the all-purpose teacher-counselor is on the wane. It is commonly accepted that the rehabilitation of the adult blind is a joint endeavor of a multi-discipline team, of which the home teacher is a very important team member with a specific contribution to make. 

Historically, salary levels for home teaching have been abominably low. They have ranged from $1000 to $1500 less than salaries for rehabilitation counselors. In 1955, the average salary for home teachers was $3,150; in 1961 the average had increased to $4,510, and in the latest study to $5,880. Salaries in selected professional and administrative occupations in services for the blind in the last five years have increased approximately 28 percent, while in the past decade salaries for home teachers have increased from 185 to 265 in the past ten years. The rate of blind home teachers decreased from 92 percent in 1955 to 81 percent of all home teachers at the present time. Blind home teachers in 1966 were paid just about the same as their sighted counterparts, which is a definite improvement from the situation in 1961 when blind home teachers were paid $900 less.

*****

** Without Which -- Nothing
Ned Freeman

It has been officially stated by the Federal Rehabilitation Service that the goal of the vocational rehabilitation program is to provide services necessary to render a handicapped person fit to engage, not only in a gainful occupation, but "one which is more consistent with his capacities and abilities."

If this really is the objective, services which fail to meet these criteria are not only a waste of state and federal money but are highly detrimental to the client. Could anything be more frustrating than for a student to be encouraged and supported through four years of college and, then, when he has his degree, to be told by his counselor, "I am sorry, but we just don't have any job for you." This happens all too often. Or, for a young man to spend a year or more training as a transmission specialist only to be told, "We may have a vending stand opening for you in about six months." This, too, is a case from life.

We all know that there are Ph.D.'s operating snack bars, members of the bar at factory benches, qualified mechanics making brooms, and trained social workers operating Dictaphones. I would not detract from the dignity or worth of any of these jobs. At least these people are working and contributing to society, which is more than can be said for many of our handicapped citizens. But are these adequate placements?

There is something terribly wrong with this picture. Either people are being trained for work for which they are unsuited, by temperament or innate ability, or the indispensable legwork has not been done. One with many years of rehabilitation experience told me not long ago, "It's easy enough to get training. The hard part comes in opening doors and getting the client on the job."

Perhaps the people referred to above were trained for professions beyond their capacity. This should have been evident after the first few months of training. If they do have the necessary requirements, their cases certainly should not be closed with such under-employment. Put them to work on the available job, yes   but keep the case subject to constant review and replacement. 

The principal reasons for miscarriages of this sort are probably "permissive" counseling and the tendency of counselors to categorize clients and occupations according to disabilities. If a blind client expresses a desire for a profession or occupation in which the counselor knows other blind people have been successful, he will probably consider this a feasible objective, whether or not the particular client in question has the intellect, drive, culture and personality which even a sighted person must have to achieve minimal success in the field. One may not have what it takes to be a good lawyer or computer programmer, but he may have the ability to be a first-rate turret lathe machinist or assembly line worker. For the client's sake and for the true success of the entire program it is success on the job that counts. But counselors seem to feel that if a client can be encouraged, cajoled, pushed and prodded through a college course or training program, the quota of funds will be expended and the case can be marked, "Closed -- Rehabilitated." This in spite of the fact that the "victim" is just as unemployed as before and much worse off, frustrated and disillusioned. Are colleges and training facilities equally guilty for retaining rehabilitation students in programs for which they are obviously unqualified?

Those who come to the agency are not statistics or puppets to be manipulated in order that the record may look good; nor are they objects upon which funds and time are to be expended just for the sake of spending. Each is a person, and the counselor has an obligation -- yes, distasteful as the idea may be -- an obligation to become "involved."

Some few handicapped persons have the initiative to make their own placements, but this commodity is rare among the severely disabled -- especially for those whose disability extends back to early childhood. Of course, there are other sources of assistance with placement in addition to state/federal rehabilitation agencies, but the primary responsibility is with the state agency. The counselor should marshal and coordinate all available resources on behalf of his client and pound the sidewalks and knock on doors until the proper placement is made. Perhaps this is a large order, but it is the counselor's reason for being. 

Most important of all -- before any occupational objective is fixed in any given case, the client must be led to face squarely and objectively his abilities and his limitations ... quite apart from the obvious disability. An intellectual, cultural or personality deficiency may be a much greater stumbling block on the way to some desired goal than blindness or quadriplegia. For every client who is at all "feasible," there is a job which meets the criteria of adequacy with which this editorial began. It is up to the counselor and the client, working together, to find that job. It may be that of an engineer, teacher, psychologist, or assembler in a sheltered shop. Whatever it is, if it represents the client's full potential, it is a good and adequate placement. If it does not, it is nothing -- or worse. 

It is to be hoped that every counselor and placement officer will frame and hang within constant view of his inner vision the words, consistent with his capacities and abilities.

*****

** An Encouraging Development

(From the New Outlook, article by George Hellinger, of the IHB staff)

Especially important to the low vision optical aids program is the fact that visually limited people are beginning to benefit from an improving relationship between the optometrist and the ophthalmologist. Formerly, persistent differences of orientation and approach made it difficult for these two professions to work together in vision rehabilitation. It is to the credit of both optometry and ophthalmology that such differences have been made secondary to the benefit of the visually handicapped patients. Consequently, with an easing of tension and inter-group rivalry, medical specialist and optometric specialists may work side by side as equals in cooperative efforts for the visually disabled. Under these conditions, not only are patients getting improved service, but research on the problems of vision will be accelerated and improved. Although this rapport is still relatively recent, its effects should be felt soon in communities all over the United States. It is my hope that each of us in work for the blind will take some responsibility for ensuring that communities have adequate facilities to provide low vision rehabilitation service for all who need it, and I don't mean a low vision clinic three hundred miles away which is inaccessible to the average blind individual. Not all will be helped, but two out of three can be helped and we won't know which two they are until we provide the opportunity for all three.

*****

** What Is the Burton Bill?
(National League of Senior Citizens)

(Editor's note: The following is published for your information. Reference to such legislation in these pages does not necessarily constitute endorsement by either the American Council of the Blind or the editor.)

The Old Folks Lobby has achieved its first major goal in the long struggle towards real social security for all Americans. H.R. 335 (by Rep. Phillip Burton, D-S.F.) and S. 1056 by Sen. Jennings Randolph of West Virginia have been actually introduced in Congress. These bills are by far the most comprehensive legislation ever introduced on behalf of America's Aged, Blind and Handicapped.

BENEFITS: $242.00 monthly for everyone 62 years of age or older, plus the Blind at age 16 and Disabled at Age 18. 

NOTE: These payments are based on the current Federal Minimum Wage of $1.40 per hour. Payments to the Aged, Blind, and Handicapped would increase as the Federal Minimum Wage rises.

PAYMENTS: Through the existing laws of the Social Security Administration, with checks mailed directly from Washington, D.C., to recipients.

ELIGIBILITY: Applicants need supply only proof of age, blindness or disability, plus "net income" data. If income from all sources is less than $242.00 per month per individual, the Federal Payments will make up the difference. No "means test" will be required. Investigations will be limited to not more than one in 10 applicants.

WHO WOULD BENEFIT: Approximately 25 million Americans, in payments of about 40 billion dollars a year. THIS MONEY WOULD NOT BE A DRAIN ON THE ECONOMY, such as the current war expenditures, or our vast foreign aid programs, which send billions OUT of the United States annually. The money paid to the Aged, Blind, and Handicapped would be spent IMMEDIATELY for the basic necessities of life. This would create a tremendous demand for American products, touch off a continuing boom in industry, and offer new jobs for the millions now being thrown out of work by automation.

NOT A GIVEAWAY: States and local taxpayers will save billions in funds now being distributed under costly Public Assistance and Direct Relief programs. This is the only sensible way to provide properly for America's Elderly, Blind and Handicapped -- by making them part of the Nation's "spending" society. In turn, it will mean more profits, more jobs, more prosperity in every area of American life!

*****

** A Quarter Century of Service
Robert B. Goodnough

(From the IBM National Edition via WE THE BLIND, Pa.)

In the Spring of 1942, Michael Supa, a young insurance salesman fresh from the campuses of Colgate and Cornell, was interviewed by the Endicott (New Jersey) general manager, Charles Kirk, and talked himself into a job with IBM. The sales pitch ran like this: job opportunities for handicapped people should be expanded by companies such as IBM; IBM should hire more handicapped people because of their ability to do fast, accurate work; someone, preferably himself, was needed to help screen and interview handicapped persons applying for work. His qualifications: bachelor's and master's degrees in psychology and the handicap of being blind since early childhood.

Supa, the former insurance salesman, was recently welcomed into the Endicott IBM Quarter Century Club. In recalling his career with the company, Mr. Supa said, "Initially I located jobs for blind and other physically handicapped people in the Endicott plant. This included interviewing, placement and training." During his service with the company, Mike was also responsible for finding housing for IBM people transferring to the Endicott plant. Finding houses and apartments for more than 1,000 people.

He established and taught the first class in what has proved to be Endicott's -- if not the company's -- most popular voluntary education course, psychology. Since the first class he has taught more than 1,000 classes, introducing thousands of students to theories of motivation and personality development.

Mr. Supa's interest and ability in the field of education led to his present assignment as a training specialist in manufacturing education. A full-time IBM educator since 1958, Mike teaches and coordinates company-time, job training courses in new "employee orientation." He has introduced more than 2,000 employees to IBM. In addition, he has written booklets for instructors and students. 

Outside of IBM, Mike's activities and accomplishments are numerous. His bachelor of arts degree from Colgate was summa cum laude. He was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and was salutatorian of his class. During World War II he was a consultant to the Army and Navy on rehabilitation programs and was cited by President Eisenhower's and the Governor's committee on the Employment of the Handicapped in 1960.

Mike is in constant demand as a speaker, has lectured at several universities and is the author of numerous articles on the problems of physically handicapped persons.

*****

** Vision Through the Skin

(From the HORIZON): The tightly blindfolded man sat up in a battered old dentist's chair and nodded his head while a technician moved a wooden ruler up and down in front of a small television camera. "Up!" said the man. Then, "Down ... down ... down!"

"Good," said Dr. Carter Collins. "That's a 100% score."

This scene took place recently in a cluttered back room of the Institute of Medical Sciences of the Presbyterian Center in San Francisco. Dr. Collins had just proved that the unusual piece of equipment strapped to the chair shows great promise as a device which will enable the blind to "see" through the skin.

The Medical Center team believes that with their device it may be possible for the blind to discern people and movement in a room, easily avoiding obstacles in their paths, and even be able to read ordinary letters printed in large type. 

"It won't be sight as we know it," said Dr. Paul Bach-Rita, the principal investigator. "But it should be an enormous improvement over anything that has been available for the blind to date."

The device is fairly simple. The TV camera, which would be miniaturized and mounted on a blind person's head, scans the scene in front of him just as an ordinary person sees with his own eyes. The signals, gradations of light and shadow, are sent by an especially designed system -- which activates a matrix of little sensors which drum against the person's back. The sensitive skin of the back has a "picture" impressed on it similar to the one seen by the camera. The picture moves if the people or objects being scanned move and the person wearing the device can detect specific shapes such as squares, triangles or, it is hoped, a large-printed letter.

The two doctors conceived the idea independently and toyed with it for years before they finally met and began comparing notes at the Center three years ago. They recently obtained a $75,000 grant from the Department of HEW to produce a good working model. Blind people tested thus far were able to follow movement and describe basic shapes pinned on the wall.

*****

** A Preschool Program for Deaf-Blind Children

A program for preschool age children with severe hearing and visual impairments is being carried on at the San Francisco Hearing and Speech Center. Through a grant 
from the San Francisco Foundation, a pilot project was started in November 1966 with six children and their parents from the bay area participating. Ages ranged from 2  to 5 years. The program includes diagnosis and evaluation of sensory and intellectual impairments and abilities. It emphasizes early stimulation and amplification of impaired senses, and the total development of the child, including his motor skills, understanding meaning of his environment, and his social adaptations. Guidance for parents is provided through demonstration lectures, discussions and observations at the Center and in the home. Personal contact with each child and his family once a week is divided between visits to the home by the teachers and visits to the Center by children and their parents. Personnel from the Visual Research Division, Institute of Medical Sciences of the Presbyterian Medical Center, educators, physicians and workers with the blind are working with the staff on the project. As a result of many children being referred, the project is now being extended and expanded for another year.

*****

** Ned's Corner

With this first column of the new year I am wishing each of you the very best in 1968 and we are hoping that this year will represent great progress for the American Council of the Blind, the FORUM, and for all of the blind and otherwise handicapped citizens of the country. There are a number of things I want to discuss with you, not all of which could be included this time, and I hope that some of you will be interested enough to send me your comments. 

In the reorganization of HEW (announced in the September FORUM), what had been the Vocational Rehabilitation Administration became the Rehabilitation Services Administration. Of recent years, the word "rehabilitation" has come to have such a broad meaning that nursing care, recreation, and almost any kind of service following a period of disability comes within the definition.

It is hoped that this does not foretell the loss of concern for the vocational goal. And we must be on the alert to see that this does not happen. So many categories of disability have now been included under the Vocational Rehabilitation Act; the retarded, the "mentally restored," the alcoholic, and the convict, that the blind and those with severe physical disabilities are more and more in the minority. The Division of Services for the Blind still functions under the new set-up. This federal office has done well in encouraging and supporting studies of new areas for the employment of blind people, and we sincerely hope that this progressive attitude will continue. One difficulty seems to have been a lack of communication of the results of such studies to the field workers. The FORUM will continue to try to keep you advised of new developments along this line.

*****

** A Fruitful Pilgrimage
Rosemary Distifan (From the Braillist Brief, Kansas)

In September, 1967 Frank and I went on a European tour especially designed for the blind. While in France we visited the home of Louis Braille at Coupvray, a tiny village approximately 30 miles from Paris. It was a pleasant drive through old Paris and the flat countryside, somewhat reminiscent of Kansas. When the French say Louis Braille it sounds like "Louie Bray" and even our English-speaking guide would look momentarily bewildered when we would slip up and say Braille to her. The home of Louis Braille was up a street so narrow it was impossible for the bus to make it. The street was unpaved and the only thing that made the Braille home look different from the surrounding small homes was a marker in front reading "Louis Braille was born here." The home has been converted into a museum with caretakers who without speaking a word of English made us welcome and kept up such a chatter about what they had to show that our poor Catherine, whose job it was to interpret, was hard put to it. The main room of the home reminds me of our old log cabin where the family lived all in one room, cooking at the fireplace, guns over the mantel, long-handled cooking utensils hung on the walls, and the big bed in the corner. We saw the harness-making shop in the next room where Louis' father worked and where the three-year-old child injured his eye with an awl which caused his blindness. Up very winding stairs there is a room holding personal belongings of Louis such as his dominoes, samples of his work, personal papers, and Braille magazines and books which have been donated. The caretaker would not let us leave without marigolds from the garden of Louis Braille. On the main street of the town leading toward the church square there is a monument to Louis Braille raised in 1887 (by national subscription). The lower part depicts Louis Braille guiding the hand of a blind youth over an embossed page.

An item or two more that we picked up on our trip might be of interest. Don't do any Danish braille. They have a 29-letter alphabet and use the signs "ar," "ow" and 
"ch" to stand for the extra letters which are an "o" with a slash mark through it, a combination of "a" and "e" written together and a long "oooo" sound.

At Sonnenberg Institute for the Blind, Fribourg, Switzerland, we visited a beautiful, new facility for the education of blind children, but they fell far behind the United States and Britain and are eager to learn of new things. A Swiss attorney came from town to act as interpreter as none of the Catholic Sisters spoke English. He said in Europe, Britain was the most progressive, and he believes that France is still ashamed of its blind, although we found them kind to us and certainly proud of Louis Braille. At Sonnenberg they had never heard of the abacus, so we have arranged to have an abacus sent with instructions and information from the American Foundation for the Blind. There was a teacher at Sonnenberg who wishes to come to the United States to study the education of blind children, and the Foundation plans to contact him. So, from a few small contacts, many seeds may grow.

(Editor's note: Dr. May Davidow of Overbrook has sent us an announcement of a 22-day, 7-country tour especially for blind travelers via Royal Dutch Airlines, leaving New York on July 14, 1968. Full information may be obtained by writing to Campus Travel Service, 2705 West Michigan Avenue, Kalamazoo, Michigan 49007, telephone 349-2689.)

*****

** Camping Fun

From the NAPA REGISTER (California), September 9, 1967.

(Editor's note: Several pictures were included in this article showing deaf-blind throat-and-lip reading, manual alphabet communication, and the sports program, which included swimming, horseback riding and dancing.)

ENCHANTED HILLS CAMP for the Blind was the scene of a three-day Labor Day weekend campout for deaf-blind persons, sponsored by the Associated Deaf-Blind of California. Through the help of local and state volunteers, deaf and blind persons throughout the state were able to spend the weekend in the out-of-doors participating in, and enjoying, the many activities and facilities that the camp offers.

To those who have never been without sight or hearing, a campout such as this would be an ordinary event. But, to the deaf-blind it was a very exciting experience. With volunteer help and the special aids to the handicapped at the camp, they were provided an opportunity to live, work, and enjoy themselves despite their limitations. Campers could take walks in the forest, swim, go boating, or just get together. The evenings meant games, parties, dancing or visiting. Most campers coming from city areas were overjoyed just to get out in the fresh air. It was a chance and a challenge they very much enjoyed. 

Volunteers are the backbone of this type of activity. Local students and adults helped those who needed assistance with guiding, cooking instructing and many other means of helping the campers relax and enjoy themselves.

*****

** Social Security Amendments of 1967
Durward McDaniel

On December 15 the United States Senate adopted the conference report on the Social Security Amendments of 1967. Although we succeeded in having the Hartke amendment adopted by the Senate, the joint conference committee deleted its key provisions -- eligibility based on six quarters of coverage and no limit on earnings -- leaving only the improved, liberalized, definition of blindness. Other liberalizing amendments adopted by the Senate also were deleted by the conference committee. The final version makes some worthwhile changes, but it falls far short of current needs. Some liberal Senators had planned a filibuster to delay final consideration until January, and the American Council of the Blind urged this delay because it would have afforded us a chance to regain some of the losses suffered in the joint conference committee. The filibuster was averted when Senator Russell Long of Louisiana obtained a surprise vote on the conference report when only twelve Senators were on the floor. Thereafter, Senator Mansfield and others insisted upon and obtained an agreement that the vote be reconsidered on the following day. This was done, but under the Senate rules a filibuster was no longer possible. The liberalized definition of blindness will benefit thousands of blind persons, but we must prepare now for the next contest to obtain the rest of the Hartke amendment, and we must continue our efforts to prevent the deduction of Social Security benefits from State grants of aid to the blind. President Johnson has said that there will be another Social Security bill in 1968. Congress is becoming increasingly attentive to our demands for improvements in Social Security. In 1968 we must redouble our efforts to persuade key members of the House Ways and Means Committee to support our objectives. You will be called upon again to send letters and telegrams and to get others to do likewise.

(Editor's Note: Mr. McDaniel has prepared an analysis of the principal provisions of the new law and a large-type copy of this may be had on request from him   address, 305 Midwest Building, Oklahoma City 73102. A tape copy may be had by writing to the FORUM office.)

*****

** Do You Need a Mathematical Genie?
Earl Scharry

I'd like to utilize the pages of the FORUM to help me perform what I consider to be a very worthwhile service. Mr. Irving Keller, of the Central Typewriting Company of Washington, D.C., has an Odner Braille Calculating Machine and would like very much to give it to some blind person who could put it to a constructive use. It came into my hands through a mutual friend, Mrs. Barbara Blumberg, of the Volunteer Braille Services of Washington. I find it to be an ingenious and fascinating gadget, but I am reluctantly forced to confess that I cannot conscientiously claim to be able to put it to any truly constructive use. I. have therefore offered to try to find some mathematician or businessman or other person who can employ it to his advantage other than as a plaything.

The Odner calculator was invented in Sweden, but of course mathematics is no respecter of national boundaries. It is about half the size of a Perkins Brailler, but seems to be at least three times as heavy. When properly coached, it can add, subtract, multiply, divide and extract square roots. (The last operation I must accept on faith alone.) The problem is set up on a setting register in somewhat the manner of an abacus. Answers appear on a result register in braille. It is accompanied by instructions for its operation on a magnetic tape, though we could wish that these were somewhat more detailed.

If anyone reading this feels he can put this machine to good use, please write to me, Earl Scharry, 5714 Ridgeway Avenue, Rockville, Maryland 20851, giving your occupation and describing the purpose for which the machine would be used so that Mr. Keller's generosity can be rewarded by the knowledge that it has not been wasted. I have no idea of the cost of the machine, but from its weight and complexity, I would judge it to be quite valuable. It will be sent for the cost of shipping only.

*****

** Here and There

From the October NEW OUTLOOK: Twenty years ago, ten percent of blind children were being educated in the public schools of the United States. Today over sixty percent are receiving their education in the schools of the communities where they live. Very few of these public schools afford blind children anything approaching the realistic training which they receive in most residential schools. Some schools give marks for physical education that are unearned by the children. At one school, the blind pupils spent the physical education period standing outside the gymnasium door. For blind pupils in other schools, the physical education period consists of sitting and keeping score for their sighted classmates. Another practice is to assign checker playing and similar activities to blind students during their physical education period. As most physical educators know, physical education is attained through vigorous, not mild activity. Physical education for blind children in public schools is feasible. Visually handicapped boys and girls feel much more comfortable taking part in activities which need not be modified for them. Sports, games and exercises which do not have to be modified include swimming, weight training, dancing, rebound tumbling, gymnastics, fitness exercises, bowling, judo, combatives, some track and field events such as standing broad jump, many relays, rope climbing, rope jumping, tug-of-war, hiking, roller skating, ice skating and other winter sports, rowing, water skiing, water cycling, tandem cycling, horseback riding, fishing and camping. -- Irvin P. Schloss, who has been the Washington representative of the American Foundation for the Blind since 1958, was elected national president of the Blinded Veterans Association at its convention in August. -- Japan's first safety bridge designed especially for the blind, part of a three-year government plan to alleviate Japan's serious traffic problems, was opened recently in Nagano City. When a person approaches the bridge, a tape recorder automatically announces its existence, and instructions, including directions and turnings, are inscribed in braille on the surface of the handrail.   Recent taped plays now available from the Library of Congress include "All About Eve," "A Majority of One," "Come Blow Your Horn," "Dear Me. The Sky is Falling," "Our Town" and "Marty."

From the Washington State WHITE CANE: The Tacoma News-Tribune reports that Clay Patterson ordered a cocktail with his dinner June 30 and was refused on the grounds that he was blind and unescorted. His arguments of temperate habits and his ability to move with his white cane were unheeded. He took the case to the State Board Against Discrimination and was told they had no jurisdiction since his case wasn't based on race, color, creed, national origin or blind persons with guide dogs. HE then took the matter to the State Attorney General's office where he was advised to petition the Liquor Control Board to recognize the white cane as a means of locomotion. -- The judge said: The witness will please state her age AFTER which she will be sworn in.

In his presidential address to the annual "Conference" of the British NFB, Duncan Watson reported that at long last his organization had secured a place on the British Delegation to the World Council (during the years I served on the Council the six-man British delegation was made up entirely of sighted delegates -- incredible as that may seem). He also reported that the British Guide Dog Association had refused to consider any blind person on its governing board. The French sister organization, Amitie des Aveugles de France, celebrated its 50th birthday last summer and warmly welcomed the vice president of the NFB as an honored guest. Mr. Watson told his listeners, with justifiable pride, that the 12 blind computer programmers trained last year had all secured good jobs. He urged caution with respect to the highly publicized sonic torch. It is still in the experimental stage and the expenditure of the 70-pound price should be considered only by those blind who have tried it out personally and find it of definite value. Reaching the climax of his address, he said: The handicap allowance is our most important current project. We must give it top priority. The case for it really rests on two grounds -- the additional costs occasioned simply by the fact that you are blind and the low earnings of many blind people, again simply because they are blind. A very large proportion of blind people are below or very close to the so-called poverty line. Few blind people really benefit from the income tax concession because of sub standard earnings. In closing he praised the World Council-sponsored project known as IRIS (International Research Information Service) pointing out that much expensive research is wasted because the results are not effectively disseminated. (Note: The British NFB has no connection with the U.S. organization of the same name.) 

Vic Buttram reports that Dick Schrempf recently underwent double hernia surgery. Dick has been a delegate at ACB conventions and especially enthusiastic participant in the extra-curricular poker games which, for some strange reason, are never mentioned in the official convention reports.

From the ZIEGLER magazine: American Foundation for the Blind has conferred its 1967 Migel Award for outstanding service to the blind by a professional worker to Byron M. Smith, former executive director of the Minneapolis Society for the Blind, and in the non-professional field, to Eustace Seligman, a prominent lawyer and a member of the AFB Board of Directors.

From the Montana OBSERVER: Dr. Melvin Gallemore and his Seeing Eye dog, Aleta, are new arrivals in Kalispell. Dr. Gallemore is here to teach English literature and freshman English in Flathead Valley Community College classes.

From PERFORMANCE: Twenty years ago ... August 27, 1947, President Harry S. Truman sat at his desk in the Oval Room of the White House. He was reading a letter he had dictated to the Secretary of Labor. He signed his name, thought a moment, then penned a postscript: "You may want to call upon officials and leading citizens outside the Federal Government for all possible assistance in this program." With that handwritten postscript was born the President's Committee on Employment of the Handicapped.

From the BLIND ADVOCATE: A miraculous new eye operation, which it is claimed will bring sight to some totally blind people, will be tried out in Glasgow soon. A plastic net, finer than the finest cobweb, will carry a central core which will act as the new pupil. The net will be held in place by a graft from the rear of the patient's eye. Gradually the tissues will marry, and the central acrylic core will become the new lens of the eye. -- En Passant, the braille chess magazine, is organizing the 3rd Olympiad of the International Braille Chess Association at Weymouth next spring. En Passant, during the past year, has doubled in size, and anyone interested should write Mr. John Graham, Treas., 325 Checkerell Road, Weymouth. -- A color film is being prepared at the Bradford Workshops for the Blind showing the gradual changeover that is taking place from the traditional trades such as basket-making to the new range of industrial sub-contracts being introduced by Industrial Advisers. -- The National League of the Blind denounces the Government of Eire for failing to provide the blind with the opportunity to obtain higher education which prevents blind students from taking the intermediate or "leaving" certificate and from entering a university. -- At least 10,000 people in 13 countries had their sight restored or were saved from imminent blindness in 1966-67, states the Royal Commonwealth Society for the Blind in its annual report just published. They were among 200,000 who were treated in dispensaries, mobile clinics, eye camps and other medical projects financed or supported by the society. A conservative estimate of the number of blind persons in the Commonwealth countries in which the society works is put at four million. Of these nearly half a million are children, and at least one and a half million men and women of working age. The most distressing fact is that two-thirds of this blindness could have been prevented and much of it is still curable, and unless the necessary action is taken the numbers could double by the end of the century. -- Blind students in Birmingham are helping to pioneer a breakthrough into industry. They are testing an experimental drawing board which is made of rubber with raised converging lines which opens the field of perspective drawing to blind people and could lead them to becoming designers.

From LISTEN: A return to Avon Old Farms School, Avon, Conn., where many blinded veterans of World War II received their rehabilitation training more than two decades ago, featured the 22nd annual convention of the Blinded Veterans Association held August 1-5. Its highest award this year went to a Korean veteran, Mr. Richard Nooe, Topeka, Kansas, who now holds the position of supervisor of social work trainees of Washington University. -- The Kansas Department of Social Welfare has received a grant from the VRA to develop a 17-week course to help blind persons use their hearing more effectively. -- Nguyen Thi Chien is the most recent addition to the student body at the Perkins School for the Blind from Saigon in Vietnam. Last year two other young ladies came to Perkins under sponsorship of a group of Green Berets. -- Boston managed a few hot days with some sunshine for the week of August 20th when the delegates to the fourth Quinquennial International Conference of Educators of Blind Youth met at the Perkins School for the Blind in Watertown, Mass. The Spanish of the Latin Americans mingled with German, French, Slavic, Scandinavian and every possible English accent to give the Perkins campus a festive and international air. Nine workshops were the core of the week's program. At the general sessions on Aug. 21 George R. Smith explained the use of a shared-time computer in high school teaching of mathematics -- a technique which has been pioneered by the Kiewit Computation Center at Dartmouth College. On Aug. 24 the delegates visited MIT for a demonstration of technical devices being developed for use by blind persons. On the last day of the conference there was a demonstration of teaching deaf-blind children by Perkins faculty with Perkins students, which was considered by many to be the most exciting event of the week.

The annual convention of the Alabama Federation of the Blind October 13-15 featured a rich and varied program. Rogers Smith, of Montgomery Chapter, was re-elected as its president.

From the LION: Observe the turtle -- he makes progress only when his neck is out!

From the OCB BULLETIN: Former Labor Leader, Samuel Gompers, once said, "Doing for people what they can do and ought to do for themselves is a dangerous experience." How often our sighted friends try to do for us what we are capable of doing for ourselves! It is not always easy to explain to them how much help we need. We want to express our gratitude for their kindness, but we must attempt to inform them, courteously, that we do not want them to waste their kindness. It seems that many blind people thrive upon attention and assistance offered to them. None of us is completely independent. Our goal should be to do everything possible for ourselves and then ask for help.

From the Washington State WHITE CANE: A one-year contract has been agreed upon between the Lighthouse of the Blind, Inc., and the Associated Sheet Metal Workers, Local 383, which represents some seventy of the workers. (The liberal and open-minded attitude of this agency is in pleasing contrast to the intractable position of the St. Louis Lighthouse, which refuses to negotiate and apparently regards its workers as medieval peons.) -- Eye Bank Emergency -- Mrs. Florence Hunt of Moses Lake underwent a corneal transplant recently, but not without considerable help. The eye tissue was flown from Nashville, Tenn., to Seattle-Tacoma Airport and the state patrol was to rush the item to Moses Lake when it was found the commercial airline connections were not satisfactory. A patrol pilot was taken from a search and rescue mission long enough to make the delivery.

From the Oregon Council of the Blind BULLETIN: David Fogle is the first blind Boy Scout in the Seattle area to win the rank of Eagle Scout at the age of 14   a fairly rare achievement by even a sighted Scout. -- Ron Warner, past president of OCB, visited in Portland from Alaska for a few days. (Jeanne and Bob Schauer are faithful readers of the BRAILLE FORUM.) --  Several OCB chapters have taken active steps to persuade local authorities to crack down on blind beggars. -- Our annual convention was held at Eugene this past year and was a highly successful gathering. All of our money proposals were passed; so $500 was appropriated for the Scholarship Fund; $600 for subsidizing delegates to the national convention; $300 for the OCB BULLETIN. It is hoped the Lions will match the first two items and will contribute an additional $500 for our low-vision aids program. Wally Menning, from Salem, succeeded Fred Krepela as president but Lucile Krepela was re-elected as recording secretary. -- Clifford Stocker reports that the Commission's Low Vision Aid Program is set up to use the facilities at both the University of Oregon Medical School and the Pacific University School of Optometry. Unfortunately, the Commission cannot purchase the aid that may be prescribed unless it be for a vocational rehabilitation client. Seventy percent of the 118 clients who have been examined since December 1965 have had their vision improved by these low vision aids. It is estimated that 2 million additional people are now eligible for the talking book program under the new federal law.

From the November NEW OUTLOOK: E.B. Whitten points out that very little is being done effectively to recruit badly needed social workers and to overcome the increasingly severed shortage. Instead of motivating more students to enter this field, the various agencies compete avidly with each other to get the relatively few people who are training for the helping professions. And again -- If we have to shed a little of our own professionalism by assigning routine duties to those without impressive academic degrees and thus release the highly trained worker for the purposes which actually require his specialized skills, both the handicapped individual and we ourselves may be better for it. 

From the HOOSIER STAR-LIGHT: A three-record talking book titled "Voice-A-Cord" is now available. Although its purpose is principally to train the singing voice, Voice-A cord" also provides basic instruction in the development of a good speaking voice. -- The services of a physical therapist are covered under Medicare and Medicaid programs if they are "incident to a physician's professional services."

From the AFB NEWSLETTER: Special citations have been awarded to four state schools for the blind -- Ohio, Nebraska, Overbrook (Pa.), Arkansas. -- An invited group of experts currently active in the field of psychological tests and measurements will meet at an AFB conference in New York in April. The conference will consider the suitability of tests designed for sighted people when used with visually impaired persons and the validity of tests developed specifically for the visually impaired. -- An authoritative study made in Russia of electroencephalograms of the blind and visually impaired, including comparisons with the effects of hearing loss and brain damage, has been received by the AFB Research Department. It is being translated for publication in the near future. 

Bert Veldhuizen, dean of the Wisconsin Council of the Blind, passed away December 4, as a result of a heart attack. The Council attended the funeral in a body, as did scores of others from the organized blind groups. He was probably the most successful blind businessman in the Middle West. He put his two sons through university and founded a thriving vending machine and wholesale tobacco and confectionery business, which his boys will carry on. His benefactions to his fellow blind were innumerable. He was a very familiar figure at National conventions. Although we went in different directions after the Miami convention of 1960 we remained close personal friends. He was honored at a statewide testimonial dinner a few months ago and his loss to the Wisconsin blind is a tragic one.

From the Peoriarea OBSERVER: At the October convention of the Illinois Federation, Maymie Tuttle received the Mary McCann Award for all of her wonderful, truly dedicated work in behalf of the blind and deaf-blind people in the Quincy area these many years and enough cannot be said about this fine lady who deserved such an award. -- Jack Reed was elected president; Bradley Burson, first vice president; Vic Buttram, second vice president and Bob O'Shaughnessy to a four-year term on the IFB Board of Directors.

Letters from Readers

Mr. Will Bowman, Cordova Hotel, 826 West 8th Street, Los Angeles, California.

We receive your excellent publication THE BRAILLE FORUM. As you probably know, there are 100,000 blind people in the United States receiving an aid grant of only about $70, and these people need help very much. The answer to the problem is in the Burton bill. Besides the many blind people who are supporting this legislation, many thousands of senior citizens are also joining us in the struggle. These are the people that put over the Medicare bills when many said that it could not be done.

(See discussion of the Burton bill in this issue.)

* * * 

Mr. Harry Earle, 423 East Seventy Street, Long Beach, California.

In my humble judgment the supreme advertisement for ACB is the medium called the FORUM. Why not try to get ACB members, especially charter members, to make a Christmas present of five dollars or more especially for the FORUM fund? Ada and I were sorry to have to cancel our plane and hotel reservations for the Wichita convention, but the bout with the flu knocked us out for nearly three weeks. We are much better now and I am dancing as usual, with Ada deprived of this pleasure due to her heart problem. Deprived of our Wichita trip, we flew to Honolulu for a week at the Pagoda Hotel.

* * * 

H.M. K. Mwagomba, Nwangolera, V. H., Mkambala Village, Post Office Karonga, Malawi, Central Africa.

I like reading very much. More than anything in the world. And I love all Americans because they are very kind people. I am a boy of about 24 years old. May God richly 
bless the land of U. S.A. because all of her people are Christians. 

* * *

Mr. Merrill A. Maynard, P. O. Box 4, Taunton, Massachusetts 02780.

I listen to the tape Forum while operating a foot press -- with earphones. Please let me know if there is any way that I can help your organization. I have been a member of the City Council and mayor of Taunton. I have had some poems published and have received some recognition as an artist.

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Mr. Abraham Gulish, c/o Lora Letwin, 42 Park Avenue, Vineland, New Jersey. 

I wish that after every national ACB convention or at some convenient time every year, you could include in the BRAILLE FORUM a list of the affiliates and the names of the chapters in each state. I have sometimes asked my friends if their state was affiliated with ACB, and they didn't know. 

(ACB now has sixteen affiliates in fifteen states: Maricopa County Club, Phoenix, Arizona; Georgia Federation and the Bertha Perry Thrift Club; Illinois Federation; Kansas Association; Kentucky Association; Michigan Federation; Associated Blind, Inc., New York; North Carolina Federation; North Dakota Federation; Oklahoma Federation; Oregon Council; South Dakota Federation; Tennessee Federation; Vermont Council. ACB president Reese Robrahn will be happy to supply further information concerning any of the above.) 

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Mr. Edgar P. Sammons, 902 West Main Street, Morristown, Tennessee 37814.

I have been reading in the FORUM about social security. Sorry that we didn't get it passed again this year. I did my best. I hope all readers of the FORUM did likewise. If we will try, I think we can get it through this next year.

All blind people that work in these shops for the blind are underpaid. We think that all workers in shops for the blind should be able to draw social security. I would like to ask all blind people who read the FORUM to write their senators and congressmen.

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Mrs. Ruth Minard, 442 West Dutton Street, Kalamazoo, Michigan 49007.
I receive your FORUM and enjoy it very much. I also receive your rival paper. I like to read both sides to every question, and then you weigh it all up. You are both working for the same thing, to get better job opportunities for blind people. I am all for it, every bit of it. But, now back to my gripe -- I get completely irked whenever I receive printed literature put out for and by organizations of blind people. For one thing, a lot of blind people have no one to read for them, and it is mighty hard to find someone to read it -- they just don't want to take the time to read it to us. I personally think if an organization can't put their material either on tape or in braille, then they have no business putting it out. I don't like talking books. I prefer to do my own braille reading.

*****

** Refugees from the Round File

A recent talking book may prove of interest to many of you. Employment for the Handicapped by Julietta K. Arthur covers the full field of the handicapped, and a considerable portion is concerned with the orthopedically disabled. However, there are sections which are concerned with the blind and with devices and services especially for the blind.

There is here a wealth the of information about services and organizations other than the federal and state vocational rehabilitation agencies which are concerned with improving employment opportunities for handicapped persons. The book is replete with illustrations of persons who have achieved personal success in spite of severe disabilities which, in many cases, are far more disabling than a simple visual loss. The book is designed as a guide to disabled persons, their families, friends and counselors.

Science for the Blind, Haverford, Pennsylvania, 19041, now makes available a portable disc player. Their report follows: In searching for a battery-operated disc player which would be of particular use to blind persons, SCIENCE FOR THE BLIND has chosen the Singer HE 2205. This machine, as manufactured for Singer, plays at 45 r.p.m. and 33-1/3 r.p.m. Since most material available for the blind plays at 16-2/3 r.p.m., we have adapted the machine for this speed. Features include the following:

- Machine is compact and lightweight; can be carried easily.

- Tone arm locks in place. Disc player can be moved while a record is playing without disturbance of the needle position.

- Case is arranged so that needle will contact no surface except the turntable no matter how it is set down.

- Turntable can be started and stopped almost instantaneously, allowing pauses without loss of recorded material.

- In "stop" position turntable may be rotated backwards to review a previous phrase or sentence.

- Battery life expectancy: 30-40 hours if used 3-4 hours a day; 40-50 hours if used 1 hour a day.

- Print and brief braille instructions provided with all Disc Players.

- Battery or A.C. operation; 16-2/3 and 33-1/3 rpm; plays talking books and soundscriber discs.

- Weight: 4 lbs. 2 oz. with batteries; approx. 13" x 8" x 3"; has tone and volume controls, A.C. adapter, earphones and batteries. Disc Player with A.C. Adapter - $35.00

Wilbur J. Cohen, Under Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare, today urged public welfare departments throughout the nation to establish activities that will invite volunteer participation. He also announced that the Department's Welfare Administration will assist them. "Unlike the 'Lady Bountiful' volunteers of the past," he said, "today's volunteers are citizens from all walks of life -- rich and poor, old and young, men and women -- who seek a realistic involvement in the great social issues of our time. It is natural that they turn to their public welfare departments since these are the places where both the problems and the programs for dealing with them converge." The Welfare Administration has issued a new publication, "Opportunities for Volunteers in Public Welfare Departments." It outlines federal aids, including payment of 75% of the cost of organizing and operating volunteer programs, and describes programs that are now operating in various parts of the country. "We hope that every public welfare office in the country will soon have its welcome mat out for volunteers," said Mr. Cohen. "Well-designed programs attract and hold volunteers, who discover that they are enriching their own lives as well as the lives of those they serve." The booklet, "Opportunities for Volunteers in Public Welfare Departments," can be obtained from the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402, at 15 cents a copy.

The Oregon Council of the Blind is now publishing a quarterly bulletin in braille and inkprint; editor is Marie Webb, c/o Oregon Council of the Blind, 7915 South East Madison, Portland, Oregon 97215. -- From the November issue: Seven blind fisherman of a field of 37 won top prizes on Green Lake. The event was sponsored by the Queen Anne Magnolia Lions Club. -- Since 1950 the Oregon Lions Club auxiliary has provided complete support for the Institute for Parents of Visually Handicapped Pre-school Children conducted each year by the State School for the Blind. The purposes of the institutes are to provide education and information for parents of visually handicapped children and to help the child become familiar with the personnel of the school which he later will attend. Auxiliaries assist with the institutes by providing baby-sitting services and hostesses, arranging the facilities and the meals. These institutes, which originated here in Oregon, have attracted educators of the blind from the entire nation and have become patterns for similar programs in many states.

A signal system to aid blind people in crossing streets is being tested in Koppom, Sweden. Attached to a lamppost, it emits long and short buzzes respectively for "wait" and "walk." Its designer, Wilgot Ahs of Koppom, has also developed a doorbell for the deaf which uses a radio to trigger a vibrator in the person's pocket. Mr. Ahs has also produced a shortwave radio which enables deaf-blind people to communicate with one another in Morse Code. (from the Journal of Rehabilitation, July, 1967)

William Feldman has been appointed Director of the Personnel and Training Service of the American Foundation for the Blind, it has been announced. In that post, Mr. Feldman will maintain a job clearing house to hep agencies serving the blind and visually handicapped throughout the United States locate qualified candidates for administrative and professional staff vacancies, particularly in the fields of education, social work and rehabilitation. He will also be responsible for the coordination of training programs designed to raise professional standards in services provided to the blind. Before joining the Foundation, Mr. Feldman was Director of Special Services of the Travelers Aid Society of America. He is a member of the New Jersey State Bar, the National Association of Social Workers, and the Academy of Certified Social Workers.

Social workers in public welfare agencies should be freed from "endless paperwork" so they can devote their major efforts to rehabilitating people who need help. Mary E. Switzer, Administrator of the new Social and Rehabilitation Service of the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare, said recently. This can be accomplished if state and local welfare departments follow the federal lead in separating social service programs from the task of determining the eligibility of needy persons for financial assistance and the amount of payments. Nothing is more frustrating to a social worker than to find that he is so bogged down in figuring out whether people are qualified for income support, and how much, that there is little time left to apply his professional training to help people solve their problems and become self-sufficient. We are crossing the threshold of a new era in social welfare in the United States in which the major emphasis will be on helping people help themselves -- both through more adequate income support programs for needy Americans and through social and rehabilitative services for all who need them in order to become independent and self-supporting. In these efforts, not only the greatest opportunity for service, but also the greatest challenge, will rest on the shoulders of social workers -- in both public and voluntary agencies.

We say that the deaf "hear with their eyes." The blind, however, must see -- with their ears. A seventeen-week course is being developed in Kansas to train the blind to make better use of their ears in identifying speech and the sounds of their environment. "Listening" will be the theme of the first part of the course, and this will include the understanding and following of spoken directions, as well as of oral instruction, and identifying of voices. The second part of the program is intended to help the blind improve their memory of names, directions and numbers. (from the November, 1967 issue of EPHPHETA)

David McClary, a former tool and die maker who is blind and deaf, is composing in braille the story of his life. Using a special punch and letter guide, he is doing all the braille work himself. (From the November, 1967 issue of EPHPHETA)

The Phoenix Center for the Blind has received a number of requests from schools, rehabilitation facilities, and state universities throughout the country for their documentary, "Giant Step: Mobility for the Blind." Because of this unexpected demand, the Center has set up a nationwide loan service. Several duplicates are being made of the 115 color slides, the sound track (recorded by KOOL-TV) and the script, so that the orders can be filled with reasonable rapidity. The rental charge will be $5.00 for up to a month's loan of the "package," and for an outright purchase, the total price will be $50.00. Interested parties may contact Mr. Frank Kells, c/o The Phoenix Center for the Blind, 3100 East Roosevelt Street, Phoenix, Arizona 85008, telephone 273-7411.

Your editor was privileged to attend the presentation of this pioneer documentary at the AAWB Convention last summer. Although there was some disagreement among the mobility specialists attending this preview concerning details of technique, all agreed that this should prove a most valuable medium for a better understanding of mobility problems of the blind on the part of the general public as well as of professional workers in the field and blind people themselves.

On Sunday, October 15th, the Phoenix Center for the Blind's Drama Workshop Players presented the farce-comedy, "A Night in Phoenix," for an enthusiastic audience comprised of the "Handy's" Club and their guests at the Central Methodist Church Hall. Orchids to the whole gang on a great job! A murder mystery is in rehearsal for next Spring's production. 

The Industrial Home for the Blind (Brooklyn) has been actively concerned with planning for a sizeable group of children who are victims of the 1964 rubella epidemic. These are multiple handicapped children with profound visual and hearing losses. Up to this time their entire service has been concentrated in the Home. Now they are ready to begin to bring a few of these children together in a small play group. The group will meet at first only once a week under the guidance of Mrs. Enid Kelly of the Deaf-Blind Department. 

Arthur N. Magill, president of the American Association of Workers for the Blind, has announced the appointment of Fred Dechowitz as executive secretary. Mr. Dechowitz, a native of Maryland, had been serving as executive director of the Baltimore Association for Retarded Children. 

According to an HEW release, Fred H. Steininger, who was before the recent reorganization the Director of the Bureau of Family Services of the Welfare Administration, has been ap pointed as Assistant Administrator for States Relations. 

The annual Social and Rehabilitation Service Awards Ceremony was held December 7, 1967. The Sustained Superior Work Performance Award was presented to Douglas C. McFarland in recognition and appreciation of leadership in the development of new and innovative programs and resources for the rehabilitation of blind persons.

*****

** ACB Officers

President: Reese Robrahn, 541 New England Building, Topeka, Kansas 66603
1st Vice President: Ned Freeman, 136 Gee's Mill Rd., Conyers, GA 30207
2nd Vice President: David Krause, 4628 Livingston Road, S.E., Washington, D.C. 20032
Secretary: Mrs. Alma Murphey, 4103 Castleman Ave., St. Louis, Missouri 63110
Treasurer: F.W. Orrell, 5209 Alabama Ave., Chattanooga, Tennessee 37409

** Directors

Mrs. Mary Jane Schmitt, 510 Tarrington Rd., Rochester, New York 14609
R.L. Thompson, 104 N. Hanlon St., Tampa, FL 33604
Fred Lilley, 7629 Dale St., Richmond Heights, MO 63117
J. Edward Miller, 2621 Chesterfield Ave., Charlotte, NC 28205 
George Card, 605 S. Few St., Madison, Wisconsin 563703
Vernon Williams, 217 Western Union Bldg., Aberdeen, South Dakota 57401
Mrs. Catherine Skivers, 836 Resota St., Hayward, CA 94545
Floyd Qualls, 106 NE 2nd St., Oklahoma City, OK 73104 

This sight saving edition was assembled and mailed by members of the Oklahoma City Chapter of the Oklahoma Federation of the Blind.

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