The Braille Forum Vol. X January 1972 No. 4 Published Bi-Monthly by the American Council of the Blind Oklahoma City, Oklahoma * Editor: Earl Scharry 5714 Ridgway Ave. Rockville, MD 20851 * Associate Editors: George Card 605 South Few St. Madison, WI 53703 Ione B. Miller 9291 Fermi Avenue San Diego, CA 92123 * President: Reese Robrahn 329 Woodbury Lane Topeka, KS 66606 * National Representative: Durward K. McDaniel 20 E Street NW Suite 215 Washington, DC 20001 To inform its readers and to provide an impartial Forum for discussion. ***** ** Contents Notice to Subscribers Discrimination Experiences Requested for Civil Rights Bills, by Durward McDaniel To Create Equality: The Randolph-Sheppard Act, by Dr. S. Bradley Burson 1972 Convention News, by Madge Nelson Service Net News, by Doris Hauser When the First Snow Falls, by Wyman Howard NAC Gets Accredited Of Interest to Those Who Type, by Mary Jane Schmitt Telling Time, by Donald Connorton Summary of ACB Board Meeting Minutes, by Mary Jane Schmitt The Blind Excel in Internal Revenue Service, by Nicholas Williams Employment Opportunity Sharing the Sheraton Schroeder Help for the Exceptional Parent, by James Cass Audio Filing System, by John Kuck Achievements: "Star Likes YM Massage" Treasurer's Report of Donations, by Fred Krepela Better Living through Technology Here and There, by George Card ACB Officers Directors ***** ** Notice to Subscribers The Braille Forum is available in braille, large type, and on tape -- seven-inch, dual track, ips 3 and 3/4. Subscriptions and address changes for all four editions should be sent to Floyd Qualls, 106 N.E. 2nd Street, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73104. Items intended for publication should be sent to the editor or to one of the associate editors. Those much needed and appreciated cash contributions may be sent to ACB Treasurer Fred Krepela, 241 State Street, Salem, Oregon 97301. ***** ** Discrimination Experiences Requested for Civil Rights Bills Congressman Charles Vanik has introduced H.R. 12154 and Senators Charles Percy and Hubert Humphrey have introduced a companion bill, S. 3044, to amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to prohibit discrimination on the basis of physical or mental handicap in federally assisted programs. These bills would add "physical or mental handicap" after the listing in the present law of the presently protected classes of persons. They would also add this qualifying clause: "unless lack of such physical or mental handicap is a bona fide qualification reasonably necessary to the normal operation of such program or activity." The term "physical or mental handicap" is defined to include "mental retardation, hardness of hearing, deafness, speech impairment, visual handicap, serious emotional disturbance, being crippled, or any other health impairment which requires special education and related services." The authors of this legislation request assistance in the compilation of cases of discrimination affecting such handicapped persons in federally assisted programs. Letters describing such cases of discrimination sent to the Council's national office will be shared with the authors of these bills. Discrimination experienced in education was a major factor in the decision to introduce these bills, but the effect of the amendments would extend to all federally assisted programs. The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance, published in 1971, includes 1,049 federally assisted programs. Such programs may be operated by the federal government or by grants or contracts through states and other public and private agencies. Some common examples are vocational rehabilitation, public assistance and manpower training and education at all levels among many others. The test is based on the presence or use of federally supplied money. Your cooperation in this fact-finding project is requested. There is a growing awareness in Congress that opportunities are being denied to handicapped citizens, and the Council is encouraging a full-scale consideration of legislation to protect handicapped persons through amendments to all parts of the several civil rights acts. ***** ** To Create Equality: The Randolph-Sheppard Act By Dr. S. Bradley Burson, ACB Legislative Chairman More than one hundred years have passed since Lincoln made his profound pronouncement at Gettysburg that this nation is "dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal." Since that day, the significance of those words has been a subject of debate, conflict, and slow evolution. It became clear very soon that "created equal" did not mean that all men are born with an equal endowment, equal economic and social resources, equal acuity of sight or hearing, physical strength, or intellectual capacity. It had to mean equality of sharing in life -- its burdens, its benefits, its rewards, and its responsibilities. But even unanimous acceptance of this concept, the right to equality, is of little consequence to anyone unless he has the power to exercise his right. If this nation is dedicated to social equality, then society itself, functioning through its governmental machinery and its collective conscience, must assume the responsibility for implementation; that is, the passage and execution of laws whose purpose is to ensure the elimination of inequalities resulting from either social prejudice or from the fact that not all men are equally equipped to cope with the demands of life. It is not only our right as individual citizens but our obligation as members of a minority group to determine the manner in which our government should function in our behalf. Our efforts to formulate and guide the legislation that affects us is not only proper, but indispensable. Indeed, without our recognition of patent inequities and abuses, and a deliberate and aggressive program to alleviate them, the whole concept of equality goes down the proverbial drain. The 1936 Randolph-Sheppard Act is one of the most significant steps ever taken by Congress to create a climate of greater economic equality for visually handicapped people to enjoy the right to work productively -- to work in a society in which the range of opportunity is limited in the first instance by their subordinate physical capacity and secondly by the negative prejudice dating from antiquity: the image of the helpless blind. Normally, government contracts, services, or purchases must be arranged only through competitive bidding procedures. Any departure from this established policy can only be authorized by Congress after it has deliberated the question and determined that there is adequate reason to justify the deviation. The nation's dedication to equality of opportunity for employment is the justification for the preference established by the Randolph-Sheppard Act. The act requires that any qualified blind person be given preference over other applicants for authority to operate a vending stand on federal property. It is clear, then, that we should not look upon such legislation as creating a special privilege for the blind person; rather, such laws represent one small but important step in the direction of establishing equality of opportunity for individuals who are deprived of it through no fault of their own. In addition to creating the preference in federal buildings, the act also provides for an ongoing program of rehabilitational training and financial support for those engaged in this type of employment. This support covers not only locations in federal buildings but on other property as well. The striking success of the Randolph-Sheppard program is evidenced by the nearly 3,500 blind men and women successfully earning a living in over 3000 vending locations throughout the country. In addition, two other significant facts should be noted. First, the competence of visually handicapped people to perform outstandingly well in retail merchandising has been irrefutably demonstrated. Second, a model for rehabilitational programs has been created; that is, the act establishes a system which combines training of individuals with appropriate machinery to provide long-range employment. Here is how the system operates. Anyone who feels that work in the merchandising field might be challenging and rewarding, whether it be in food services or other small business enterprise, should contact his nearest state rehabilitation agency. Before a location can be turned over to him, he must be trained, receive some on-the-job experience and then be licensed as a qualified Randolph-Sheppard manager. In the case of a new location, the equipment will be bought and owned by the agency. Just as with training, every dollar spent by the state for the equipment will be matched by four dollars of federal money through the Randolph-Sheppard program. The business is expected to pay, so each manager is required to contribute a prescribed portion of his proceeds to a fund called "set-aside." Accounting costs and supervisory services are paid in part out of this fund, but 80 percent of these overhead costs are paid for by federal funds. There are two reasonable exceptions to this area of matching. The first is set-aside money used to ensure a "fair-minimum wage," an obligation incurred only where a location is submarginal and not paying for itself. The other set-aside expenditure that gets no federal matching money is that needed to replace and repair equipment. The whole result is an interesting one, a system in which the training together with the costs of opening new businesses are largely paid for by federal rehabilitation money; but, on the other hand, the long-range operating costs (the permanent employment aspect) are supported primarily out of the proceeds of the business itself. To many readers already thoroughly familiar with the program, the foregoing description will seem superfluous. It is presented for two purposes: first, to exemplify the worth of effective legislation aimed at coupling an enforceable priority with effective implementation and, second, to encourage persons who may be casting about for a new career to take a close look at the opportunities available through the Randolph-Sheppard system. Gross receipts in the program across the country are headed toward one hundred million dollars. Such a development was never contemplated by the original act of Congress and the language of the original act falls far short of being adequate to cover the situation. The law has not been amended since 1954 and is badly in need of updating. Over two years ago, primarily coordinated by the American Foundation for the Blind, a group of people came together in Washington to draft a set of mutually acceptable amendments. All of the concerned organizations of and for the blind were represented, including the American Association of Workers for the Blind, the American Council of the Blind, the American Foundation for the Blind, the Blind Veterans Association the National Association of Executive Directors of State Agencies, and the National Federation of the Blind. Administrative officials from the Federal Office for the Blind and Visually Handicapped also participated in a consultative capacity. This writer, as legislative chairman, together with the National Representative, Durward McDaniel, represented the American Council of the Blind. In the 91st Congress, the amendments that were drafted were passed by the Senate but failed in the House of Representatives as the result of intense adverse pressure from the postal unions. Virtually the same bill (S. 2506) has again been introduced by Senator Jennings Randolph and is now pending before the Subcommittee on Handicapped Workers of the Senate Committee on Labor and Public Welfare. Hearings are being held, and in the November, 1971, issue of the Braille Forum you can read the testimony that was introduced jointly by Mr. Arthur Segal, board member of the Randolph-Sheppard Vendors of America, and Mr. Durward McDaniel of the American Council of the Blind. The illegal encroachment by the associations of federal employees who are skimming off money rightfully belonging to the Randolph-Sheppard program continues to be the obstacle. On December 1, 1971, five of us held a conference with the leading opponents of the bill, the presidents of the Postal Employee Union and of the Letter Carriers Union together with their counsel. Our team comprised Irvin Schloss of the American Foundation for the Blind John Naler of the American Association of Workers for the Blind, John Nagel of the National Federation of the Blind; Bradley Burson and Durward McDaniel represented the American Council of the Blind. No mutual ground for arbitration could be found. As described in detail in the November issue of the Forum, the associations of federal employees have no intention of stopping their illegal diversion of vending machine profits -- monies which properly and lawfully belong to the Randolph-Sheppard Program. They could present no justification in support of their practice of taking vending-machine revenue. They merely asserted that their welfare committees had been receiving the money for many years, and they intended to continue exerting the political pressure of their six hundred thousand constituents to prevent us from getting the amendments through Congress. We will not acquiesce in their unlawful tactics, and are putting up a hard fight to protect the right of the Randolph-Sheppard Program to this money. The opposition is fighting a hard battle; during my three days in Washington promoting A.C.B. legislation, I had occasion to visit the offices of five congressmen and three senators. In every case, when I made reference to senate bill S2506 to amend the Randolph-Sheppard Act, they acknowledged that the representatives of the federal unions had already attempted to secure their opposition. I want to ask each of you to write at least three letters. One should go to each of the senators from your state and the third to the congressman from your district. The letters can all say the same thing. You can be as elegant as you like, but a simple note will help. For example: The Honorable Charles H. Percy Senator from Illinois Washington, D.C. 20510 Dear Senator Percy: I am a citizen of Downers Grove, Illinois, and I am blind. The bill (S. 2506) amending the Randolph-Sheppard Act will help blind people throughout the country to find employment. We are faced with strong opposition from the unions of federal and post office employees. For many years these groups have been unlawfully taking money intended to help rehabilitate the blind population of the country. S. 2506 will help to correct this situation and we will greatly appreciate your support. Respectfully yours, S. Bradley Burson First Vice President American Council of the Blind You should direct similar letters to both of your senators and your own congressman, i.e., if you are from Illinois: The Honorable Adlai E. Stevenson, III Senator from Illinois Washington, D.C. 20510 and The Honorable John N. Erlenborn Congressman from Illinois Washington, D.C. 20515 If you are an officer or board member of a club or blind organization, include such title below your signature. If all men are created equal, then certainly some are created more equal than others -- those of us who are not must organize to bring about the passage of new laws, and to go to court if necessary to have our "equal rights" declared. To this end, we must pool our resources and strive toward the realization of our own equality. ***** ** 1972 ACB Convention News By Madge Nelson Several "special" groups of visually handicapped people will be drinking in the beauties of Portland and Oregon for the first few days of July, 1972, Why "special?" Because they will be the 'first arrivals' for meetings preceding the general 1972 National Convention of the American Council of the Blind, which will officially open at noon, Wednesday, July 5th. May we arouse your interest and curiosity a bit? It is Leap Year, you know, and anything may happen at our 'Mixer' on the evening of July 4th. And we know how much you will enjoy our tour of the "Gardens of Enchantment" at the Oral Hull Park for the Blind, located on the Sandy River and with a beautiful view of our famous Mt. Hood. How would you like a barbecued chicken dinner in this delightful setting? Our featured speaker will be Michael T. Vance, a staff member of Walt Disney Productions, who packs plenty of "Mouse Power" in his presentation of "The Magic of People!" Have we tickled your fancy?? Then start saving your nickels dimes quarters and 'green-backs,' and join the crowd! We may not be the largest affiliate, but we are planning one of the most memorable conventions you have ever attended. We will try pre-registration, for the first time. This will require a great deal of cooperation from each of you, in case anyone does not receive the Braille Forum. There will be a registration form available in the March issue and a quantity mailed to each affiliate for distribution, but the information will also need to be passed by word of mouth. Should anyone wish information prior to that date, please write to: Mrs. Edna Williams, 709 S. W. 16th Ave. #201, Portland, Oregon 97205. We will try to make the plan worth your consideration. (Mrs.) Madge A. Nelson, Co-Ordinator 1972 National ACB Convention Committee ***** ** Service Net News By Doris Hauser Carl Conway of Covina, California, builds audio tuning aids free of charge for blind operators. I have had a tuning aid for several years that he built, and it has worked beautifully. I used to blow tubes in our old DX 40 left and right, much to the distress of my O.M. (Old Man?). I will be happy to pass along the address on the ACB Service Net, which meets daily at twelve CST on 14,305 KH. I am also pleased to be able to report that Ham M rotors are available with braille on the control box and also a clicking device. No more guessing which way the beam is. We have one on order. I expect to get lots of requests to join the new affiliate of the ACB. Please send your two dollars to me, and I will see that you get a certificate of membership. Let's get behind this organization and make it a credit to ACB. Doris Hauser (WA9MWM), 937 Bowditch, Aurora, Illinois 60538 ***** ** When the First Snow Falls By Wyman Howard The first snow has not yet fallen. But if it should come at a time in my classroom, I know that what I am doing or showing will be muted, and that eyes will shine and turn away to look through the windows. I know that I will be outdone by the allure of a natural occurrence. The students will show that joy that is common to all children, the wonder of winter's beginning. My students are, my classroom is and the snow will fall at the Iowa School for the Deaf. Yet, as is the case anywhere else, each child is unique. The children have varying degrees and kinds of hearing loss. Each child brings to class a divergent background and a differential reaction to his experiences to add to the mix of the classroom. Another ingredient to the pedagogical environment is the teacher. Therefore, at this point, I will add myself. I would also add to the mix the fact that I am legally blind. I find that I can use a combination of the vision I have together with hearing to function in this classroom situation. I write on the blackboard, and I can see what students have written on the blackboard, too, but not across the room. There is an advantage in this, I find, because I get much physical exercise going to the site of something newly written on the board by a student. We communicate with each other, my students and I, through whatever combination of methods works -- speech, finger spelling, signing, writing, drawing, dramatization. One interesting conversation, I recall, was with a student one day after a blizzard. The discussion evolved around the catastrophic environmental effect if there were a sudden thaw. This student had very limited language ability. The entire discussion occurred through the vehicle of drawing pictures on the board. At the other end of the spectrum, I taught a student the word lethargic as a slight piece of pedanticism. He went out and showed off his new word to all the teachers he could find. A class of deaf students is not the quiet place some people might think it is. Once, I remember, a certain class was quite noisy. A superior popped his head in the door to inquire the reason for all the mayhem. I told him we were just playing a game and writing the answers on the board. I use an overhead projector a great deal of the time. This is a most helpful device. I can type material, run the typed copy through a theromofax machine and display transparencies on the wall. A great deal of the material should properly be rewritten or especially prepared to suit the experiences and language abilities of the students in a given class. I like to type special work materials after, or before, showing filmstrips or movies. My students enjoy showing me where I have made a typing error. That's only fair, they say. I am always telling them about their mistakes. They particularly enjoy helping to correct my less than adequate drawings, but we won't talk about that. After 17 years of such experiences, I think that communication between human beings is a delicate and fragile thing that can so easily be broken or joined and made lasting, and that language, as much as it is a matter of logic, is also of the heart. When the first snow falls, we will stop and watch through our windows and then hurry on to the coming of spring with its green dominions. ***** ** NAC Gets Accredited (The following is a news release from the National Accreditation Council.) For the first time an accrediting agency covering primary and secondary schools in the field of special education has received the official recognition of the United States Office of Education. The National Accreditation Council for Agencies Serving the Blind and Visually Handicapped has been notified by Peter P. Muirhead, Acting U.S. Commissioner of Education, that he has added NAC to the Commissioner's list of nationally recognized accrediting agencies and associations. The Commissioner's action was taken in concurrence with the recommendation of the Office's Advisory Committee on Accreditation and Institutional Eligibility. Informing NAC of his action, Commissioner Muirhead wrote: "Please accept my warm congratulations to your organization for its achievements to date and its promise for the future. NAC thus joins such organizations as the six regional accrediting bodies in general education, the American Bar Association, the American Library Association, the American Optometric Association, the American Public Health Association, the Council on Medical Education of the American Medical Association, the Council on Social Work Education, and others on the federal listing. Of these agencies, the six regional accrediting bodies accredit secondary schools as does NAC. They also accredit colleges and universities. Most of the others accredit special curricula or schools offering specialized courses beyond the secondary level. ***** ** Of Interest to Those Who Type By Mary Jane Schmitt When you are typing, do you ever make a mistake? The answer to that question, of course, is "yes," because everyone does. A new innovation in typewriter ribbons may be just what the doctor ordered. The Filmon Corporation has developed an "Errorite" ribbon, which eliminates the need for correction ribbon or liquid components to correct mistakes. The ribbon is black and white rather than black and red, with the white portion serving to correct mistakes. It is very simple to use. When you mistake, you merely backspace, flip the ribbon indicator up into the white position, depress the key that you hit when you made the error, backspace, flip the ribbon indicator back down into black position, and strike the correct key. Please note that it is only necessary to strike the correct key once. Advertising from Filmon Corporation states that this ribbon is made for any machine that can make use of a two-color ribbon. If purchased singly, the cost is $2.98 for ribbons for portable models and $3.98 for ribbons to fit standard typewriters. In ordering, please accompany your order with the make and model of your machine, so that you will receive the proper ribbon. If you wish further information, write to the Filmon Processing Corporation, 653 Eleventh Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10036 Attention Miss Diane Farenga, Marketing Department. From personal experience I can tell you that this ribbon really works and, in this day of the copying machine, when carbons are obsolescent, it can save a blind typist a great deal of time and add tremendously to his independence. ***** ** Telling Time By Donald Connorton Request for Mail: The Coordinating Committee of Dog Guide Users is requesting mail from all A.C.B. members who own or have owned dog guides or who know dog guide users anywhere in the country who have had problems with extra fares, extra fees, or refusal of admission because of the use of dog guides. One of the goals of the CCDGU is to have legislation introduced and passed to eliminate discrimination against dog guide users in the country. Accounts of such experiences will be of great benefit in obtaining support for legislation which is being worked on at present in Washington, D.C. I would like to ask that your letters be in print, because they will be photocopied and copies sent to appropriate individuals in Washington. ACB Members, I am asking for your help with pen or typewriter. Please send correspondence to: Coordinating Committee of Dog Guide Users, 7080 S.W. 23rd Street, Apartment 105, Miami, Florida 33155. ***** ** Summary of ACB Board Meeting Minutes By Mary Jane Schmitt The ACB Board of Directors met in St. Louis on November 13, 1971. Applications for affiliation from the Washington (State) Council of the Blind and the Blind Leadership Club of Massachusetts were received and approved. Durward McDaniel, National Representative, reported at length on to his date on organizing the library activities. controversy He also brought the Board up to date on the library controversy in which the National Federation of the Blind is currently indulging. He recommended that a committee be created, to be called National Friends of the Libraries for the Blind and Physically Handicapped and that it include outstanding blind people known to be interested in libraries and their services. Acting upon this recommendation, the Board adopted the following resolution: "BE IT RESOLVED by the Board of Directors of the American Council of the Blind that the President be authorized and instructed to form a committee to be known as the National Library Committee for the purpose of supporting the program of the Library of Congress, as administered by Chief Robert S. Bray and the various regional librarians, and to cooperate with the existing administration in the improvement of library services and programs; and "BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that said committee shall be empowered to do all necessary things to accomplish these purposes in accordance with the directions of the President and to educate library users and public and private authorities about services being rendered by the Division for the Blind and Physically Handicapped and its regional libraries and the need for support and cooperation." Floyd Qualls presented the report of the Finance Committee. He reported concerning negotiations with the Henderson Corporation for the establishment of a chain of thrift stores throughout the country in the name of ACB. The Henderson Corporation would solicit discarded merchandise in the name of ACB, repair it when necessary, and retail it in the thrift stores. In return for the use of its name, ACB would receive $500.00 per month for each store in operation. A committee of three was appointed to negotiate the details of the contract. Mr. Henderson said that wherever possible his corporation will employ handicapped people in the operation of the thrift stores. David Krause presented the 1972 budget of $71,830.00, which was unanimously approved. The Treasurer's report, submitted by mail before the meeting, was unanimously approved. Since ACB's account with Artistic Greetings has been inactive for some time, a motion was passed that the account be closed and that a quarterly accounting be made for any sales or donations accruing thereafter. The Board directed Floyd Qualls to convey to the Board of Directors of the Oklahoma League for the Blind ACB's gratitude for the outstanding and steadfast cooperation extended by the League. Helen Vargo, Chairman of the Publications Board, reported that individual members of that Board had been given responsibility for the following projects: advertisement of the Forum in other publications likely to be read by blind people; mailing of a survey card to all current Forum subscribers, to ask if they wish to continue their subscriptions, to verify correctness of names and addresses, and to ascertain if readers are receiving the Forum in the medium preferred; exploration of alternative arrangements with the current or another publisher of the braille edition in order to improve quality and service; drafting and circulation of a follow-up questionnaire on the Editors' Workshop held in Milwaukee, in order to provide information to assist in planning a similar workshop in Portland; and preparation of guidelines for submission of affiliate convention notes to the Forum. Miss Vargo also reported that the Publications Board is recruiting additional Associate Editors who will actively assist in providing material for the Forum. Lucille Krepela read a tentative program for the 1972 Convention, which made everyone eager to hit the Oregon Trail. ***** ** The Blind Excel in Internal Revenue Service By Nicholas Williams Coordinator for Employment of the Handicapped U.S. Internal Revenue Service Sixty plus! This is the number of blind persons who work for the Internal Revenue Service in 34 states as Taxpayer Service Representatives (TSR's). Taxpayer Service Representatives provide tax information and assistance to the general public, particularly to the many persons who make telephone inquiries to IRS offices. Blind TSR's often use an abacus for on-the-spot computations, and have access to braille and tape tax reference materials. We hope that the blind TSR's will soon be able to get taxpayer return data from the computer in braille. In addition to their regular duties, the blind TSR's are already looking ahead to expanded functions in answering questions about the President's wage-price stabilization program. The program's initial goal of placing at least one blind TSR in each major Internal Revenue Service office is approaching completion. Seven offices have already employed two blind workers in this capacity. The turnover rate for blind TSR's is very low; approximately 95 percent of the blind persons hired under this unique four-year-old program are still working for IRS. Fifty of the current blind TSR's were trained at Arkansas Enterprises for the Blind in Little Rock, Arkansas, in a 1968-70 demonstration project funded by an HEW grant. The project was developed jointly by the Internal Revenue Service and Arkansas Rehabilitation Services for the Blind. Now that the program has successfully completed the demonstration phase, the AEB is continuing this training service with the tuition and fees of the blind candidates being paid by sponsoring rehabilitation agencies. Rehabilitation counselors may refer potential IRS trainees to the AEB for evaluation at any time of the year, but not later than one month prior to the class which they are expected to enter. The next class, which lasts approximately five months, starts in January 1972. Prior to referral to AEB an applicant and his rehabilitation counselor usually arrange an interview with the nearest District Internal Revenue Service Personnel Director to explore possible IRS employment opportunities in the applicant's state. Referrals are made to Arkansas Enterprises for the Blind, Inc., 2811 Fair Park Blvd., Little Rock, Arkansas 72204, under the able direction of Roy Kumpe, Executive Director. The telephone number in Little Rock is (501) 664-7100. The word has spread around, and inquiries about the program have come from the British and Canadian governments, as well as many federal agencies such as the Social Security Administration where the establishment of similar positions could hold great promise for the future. The Revenue Service, which also employs blind attorneys, revenue agents, computer programmers, tax law specialists and transcribers, has no reservations about its blind employees, who have asked no special concessions and have proved themselves on their own merit. ***** ** Employment Opportunity The Illinois Federation of the Blind is interested in hiring an Executive Director. Qualifications are: He (or she) must be legally blind and have a college degree and relevant experience. He must be able to do public speaking and willing to travel throughout Illinois and work closely with the members and affiliates. Beginning salary range will be from $8,000 to $10,000 per year. Interested applicants should send a resume to: Mr. Richard Schrempf, Chairman, Selection Committee, P.O. Box 1336, Springfield, Illinois 62705. ***** ** Sharing the Sheraton-Schroeder (The following resolution was adopted by the International Association of Governmental Labor Officials (IAGLO) on July 30, l971. Ed.) WHEREAS, the 54th annual convention of IAGLO had the very fortunate and rewarding experience of sharing the facilities of the Sheraton-Schroeder Hotel with the American Council of the Blind national convention of 1971; and WHEREAS, the representatives of the IAGLO convention had occasion to observe and admire the resourcefulness and independent action and mobility of character of the representatives of the American Council of the Blind; and WHEREAS, the Girl Scouts of America voluntarily offered and graciously assisted some unsighted representatives of the American Council of the Blind; THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the 54th annual convention of IAGLO express its admiration of these gifted fellow conventioneers and recognizes the effective service and help rendered by the Girl Scouts of America. ***** ** Help for the Exceptional Parent By James Case (Editor's Note: The following was excerpted from an article in the Saturday-Review, August 21, 1971.) The U.S. Office of Education reports that there are more than six million handicapped children in the country -- those with mental, emotional, or physical handicaps who, in educational parlance, are known as "exceptional children." This figure does not include the even larger number who have less severe handicaps but who still suffer from a variety of learning disabilities. In the course of the last decade or two the exceptional children, and to a lesser degree the learning disabled, have attracted increasing professional and public attention. State and federal funds have been made available in growing amounts to help local school districts initiate and maintain programs designed to help these children overcome their afflictions as fully as possible. As exceptional children have increasingly become the focus of public and professional concern, however, their parents have largely been ignored. "The families of millions of American children with physical and/or mental disabilities," says clinical psychologist Lewis Klebanoff, "struggle with a surrealistic nightmare of anxiety, perplexity and fatigue." Suddenly faced with a situation for which they are totally unprepared, but which profoundly affects their entire lives, these parents reach out for assistance, guidance and advice. They cry out for help," says Dr. Klebanoff, "and there is no help -- or precious little." It is the rare and fortunate parent who, faced with the tragic reality of a seriously disabled child, finds the human understanding, professional aid, and practical guidance he needs. But Dr. Klebanoff, who is director of the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health, and two colleagues, Dr. Stanley D. Klein and Dr. Maxwell J; Schleifer, both of the University of Massachusetts at Boston, have set out to change all that. In late June they started publication of a new magazine, The Exceptional Parent, which aims to provide "practical guidance for the parents of exceptional children." The first issue of The Exceptional Parent lives up to its stated purpose. An extended interview with three parents of children with disabilities (a teen-aged retarded girl, an emotionally disturbed boy, and a teen-aged girl with cerebral palsy) is effective in letting other parents know that they are not alone. The autobiographical story of a quadriplegic who was able to become a writer after working out an ingenious way to use a typewriter proves that almost any disability can be surmounted. Two articles on how to evaluate "scientific breakthroughs" and "Public Transportation Training" offer practical, down-to-earth advice. And regular features are scheduled to answer parents' questions, offer advice on recreation for the disabled, and discuss the question, "What physician when?" ... Doctors Klebanoff, Klein, and Schleifer are to be applauded for their effort to provide badly needed help for the parents of exceptional children. Their initial effort promises exceedingly well. We wish them every success. (The Exceptional Parent, P.O. Box 101, Back Bay Annex, Boston, Massachusetts 02117, is published six times a year. Introductory price, $10.00). ***** ** Audio Filing System By Dr. John Kuck (Editor's Note: John Kuck is a physicist at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. His mailing address is: 2920 Wilton Avenue, Silver Spring, MD 20910.) I have been wondering whether there is a need for the development of a low-cost audio filing system that might be helpful to blind people doing office work and make it possible for more of them to obtain jobs in this area. It seems to me that the development of such a system would be quite feasible. It could be built around the small, low-cost cassette tape recorders that are now readily available. All that would be needed in addition is an electric typewriter keyboard (or a teletypewriter) hooked up to some electronic circuitry that would allow typed-in subject headings to be encoded on the magnetic tape in such a form that these headings could be automatically located when the tape is run through at high speed, e.g., in the "fast forward" mode that is available on many of the cassette tape recorders. The operation of such a system would be that in setting up the file a person would type in subject headings leaving sufficient space between them for anticipated future needs. To retrieve information a person would throw a switch to the "search" position, type the desired subject heading, and run the tape through at high speed until it is automatically stopped by a signal from the electronic circuits, when the desired subject heading is reached. The information between subject headings would be in the form of voice recording. Any number of tape cassettes could be included in the file if braille markings were provided for identification and if convenient pigeon-holes were provided for their storage. The assistance of sighted person would be required initially for transferring written information into the file, but once there, it would be readily available to the blind person without further help. Techniques for encoding file-headings onto magnetic tape are well known and are used in some very sophisticated and expensive automatic filing systems, e.g., on the magnetic Ampex "Video-file" that stores TV images of documents on magnetic tape. It seems to me that the application of these principles to a low-cost audio filing system would not present any very difficult technical problems. What is needed is some way to demonstrate that a need exists and that there would be a sufficiently profitable market to justify a manufacturer's effort in putting such a device into production. It would be interesting to have comments from people who have had experience in obtaining employment for blind persons on the merits of such a system. ***** ** Achievements: "Star Likes YM Massage" (Editor's Note: The following article appeared in the Oklahoma City Daily Oklahoman, September 7, 1971. Mr. Cloud is a member of the Oklahoma Federation of the Blind.) What do you do if you're a world-famous personality in a strange city and want your customary 1:30 a.m. massage? You call the YMCA. That's what Bob Hope did on his Fourth of July visit to Oklahoma City. Hope ends each busy day with an hour-long walk followed by a massage. His host for the weekend recommended Central YMCA health club director Ira Cloud for the "best massage in town." So at 1:30 Sunday morning Cloud, after being thoroughly checked out by the Oklahoma City police, was ready and waiting when the famous comedian returned from his late walk. "He's nice and congenial ... just plain folks," said Cloud. "Bob Hope is one who really knows how to relax after a rigorous day. He's learned the secret of relaxation." Cloud is a strong advocate of the benefits of massage combined with regular exercise and cites members of the YMCA health club who range in age from 21 to 98. He has patrons in their 90's who are still active in business and community affairs. "If everyone would take time to get a massage regularly they could throw away their tranquilizers," Cloud declared. "You take a tranquilizer and when it wears off the problem is still there ... Massage realizes you and gets rid of the tension so you don't need to take pills." He should know. Cloud and seven other full-time masseurs at the Central YMCA health club give 75 to 90 massages every day. Cloud has had six years experience with the YMCA, two of these as a masseur at the Central YMCA when he lost his sight six years ago. He has since regained partial vision, but he continues to seek out other blind men to train in his profession. Asked about his experience with Bob Hope, Cloud said, "My wife wanted his autograph, but I wasn't about to be that corny. When he called me out there the second night, though, I did ask him. "I told him I'd be in the doghouse if I went home again without it. One thing I wanted to ask him, but didn't, was how it was to kiss Jane Russell [in the movie "Paleface"] and if he had to stand on a box." "Hope is in pretty good physical condition," Cloud said. "He is able to keep up such a full schedule for a man of his age because he gets enough rest and exercise, and he knows how to relax." ***** ** Treasurer's Report By Fred Krepela CONTRIBUTIONS (to December 15, 1971) * Sponsoring Membership - $5.00 Johanna Flohil, San Jose, California * Membership at Large - $3.00 John A. Lalee, Dallas, Texas * Braille Forum Contributions - $10.00 Mrs. T.K. Johnstone, Jr., Greenville, South Carolina Robert L. Hegland, Des Moines, Iowa * Miscellaneous - $11.50 John A. Lalee, Dallas, Texas Leonard Krauss, Bronx, New York J. M. Wurth, Scotch Plains, New Jersey Lulu D. Harman, Tulsa, Oklahoma * Washington Office Randolph-Sheppard Vendors of America - $500.00 Oklahoma Federation of the Blind - $1,000.00 toward membership * ACB National Convention - $4.00 Edna Williams, Portland, Oregon Millard Thompson, Portland, Oregon ***** ** Better Living through Technology (The following two articles are reprinted from the (Michigan) Federation News. --Ed.) * Braille Printer Applied to Mathematics The Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sensory Aids and Development Center has designed a Braille Page Printer called BRAILLEMBOSS. The printer embosses braille faster than the teletype method. It accepts electrical braille-coded signals from many different sources, and produces one braille page every 1.6 to 2.0 minutes. BRAILLEMBOSS was used as an output device for a computer, producing an inches-to-millimeters conversion table in braille. Such a table was made for a rehabilitation client of the Massachusetts Commission for the Blind. The client was trained to repair and rebuild foreign car automatic transmissions. The transmissions are measured in metric units. The only braille micrometers immediately available to him used inches . . . This demonstration has shown that the M.I.T. BRAILLEMBOSS can produce mathematical tables in braille. When "properly interfaced with a time-sharing computer," it can perform any mathematical function that can be programmed into a computer. ***** ** TAC-COM Communication System for the Deaf and Deaf-Blind The M.I.T. Center for Sensory Aids and Development has designed a personalized communication system for the deaf and deaf-blind. The new device is known as TAC-COM (Tactile Communicator). The unit consists of a transmitter and a portable, battery-operated receiver. The transmitter sends a coded message to the receiver whenever the transmitter is activated. The person using the unit gets the message by means of vibrations in the receiver. Different vibrations would mean different things. The receiver is about the size of a small transistor radio and weighs less than seven ounces. Several receivers can be used in the same area, and the transmitter can be located almost anywhere. A TAC-COM system is being used in one of the National Centers. It is being tested as a fire alarm device and as a doorbell for the deaf-blind. Other uses are being designed and tested at M.I.T. ***** ** Here and There By George Card The November ZIEGLER'S contains an amusing article titled "Imaginary Numbers." This reminds many of the alleged membership of the NFB, which has stood at exactly 40,000 since the late 1940s. Not even the withdrawal of 15 state organizations in 1961 had any effect on this magic number. Wisconsin was first in the nation to provide Aid to the Disabled, 1945; first to establish a Student Loan Program, 1933; second to provide Old Age Assistance, 1925; second to provide Aid to Dependent Children, 1913; pioneered in Aid to the Blind, 1907; established, before federal involvement, a Medical Assistance Plan, 1945. From the NATIONAL NEWS OF THE BLIND (Canada): Blind computer programmers in Canada have now formed their own organization. Those attending the first meeting spoke of the difficulty in getting up-to-date material in braille or on tape. -- Fourteen-year-old Randy Hogle, blind, enters and wins jumping events in Alberta in competition with some of the best riders in the province. Before an event he has someone explain the course orally and he completely memorizes it as well as the number of feet between the jumps. President Robrahn was the featured speaker at the annual convention of our South Dakota affiliate. This organization will again use a statewide raffle as its principal fund-raising project, the prize being an all expense paid trip to Las Vegas. KAB NEWS reports the election of Walter Schreiner as its President, succeeding Helen Vargo. Also the installation of Dr. James Nezol as Director of Programs for the Visually Handicapped. -- As of November 9, total membership in KAB reached 540 members, having enrolled 102 new members this year. -- The annual convention the last weekend in October contained a rich and comprehensive agenda. The item most enthusiastically reported was an address by Dr. Frank Rocco, Superintendent of the Iowa Braille and Sight Saving School. From the MISSOURI CHRONICLE: The MFB is going to court to stop a rival organization from using the name NFB of Missouri. -- A team of British researchers has been dispatched to the Dahlak Islands in the Red Sea to determine why half the islands' 3,000 inhabitants are blind. From the OREGON STYLUS: At the highly successful annual convention held in Eugene October 23-24 Gregory Robinson, a 26-year-old doctoral student in political science at the University of Oregon, was elected President. Greg attended the Milwaukee convention and made many friends. I was happy to receive early issues of the ARIZONA NEWSLETTER. Our 34th affiliate has now reached a membership of 190 and applications are still coming in. -- On November 9 a federally chartered Arizona Council of the Blind Credit Union was organized with an initial membership of 46. Fred Pearson, of San Diego, writes: "I learned that the California Council of the Blind, which has officially placed National Federation before its name, voted at its last convention to continue the ban on its local affiliates admitting members of ABC. Any affiliate that admits a member of ABC will be thrown out of the Council." From the NEW OUTLOOK: As previously reported, Howard Hanson has been carrying on a screening project in South Dakota nursing homes for the aged. After two years he now writes in summary: "13 percent of those in nursing homes are legally blind; 32 percent are in need of services from an eye doctor or an agency serving blind people; of the 810 individuals referred for additional eye care, some 75-80 percent are eligible for medical assistance payments if somebody only cares enough to find and inform them of the fact." -- The progress made to date in electronic guiding devices warrants the hope that a near-complete solution may ultimately be found, although this seems likely to be a generation or two away. Even now the binaural sensor, when used in conjunction with the long cane, is a most valuable mobility aid, one which is capable of extending the mobility potential of either the experienced or inexperienced blind traveler. -- Visually handicapped persons throughout the country are now able to handle their own financial dealings with banks more easily and privately as the result of a new combined script-and-braille checkbook called the Checkwriter. The Checkwriter consists of a pair of hinged aluminum plates with horizontal writing-guide slots for date, payee, amount and signature. Over other areas of the check, braille cells are set up for transcribing necessary information on the check stub for end-of-the-month balancing of statement and checkbook records. A so-called "Braille Account" can also be set up so that the blind person can receive his bank statement in both print and braille. Information regarding the Checkwriter and on setting up "Braille Accounts" at a local bank is available from Walter Sauerman, Room 1415, Chemical Bank, 20 Pine Street, New York, NY 10015. From the AFB WASHINGTON REPORT: On October 16 Miss Mary E. Switzer, who had retired in 1970, died following a brief illness. She had played a major role in shaping the growth and development of the federal-state vocational rehabilitation program for the disabled into the major program resource that it is today. -- Amtrak has determined to continue to honor "Blind and Attendant" certificates for travel via Amtrak through April 29, 1972. The policy has not been determined beyond that date. From the WCWB NEWSLETTER: The World Council has urged UNESCO to cooperate in an effort to secure global acceptance and implementation of the Universal Postal Union's recommendation about postage free delivery of articles for the blind and the Florence Agreement on customs' exemption for such articles. -- The next meeting of the Executive Committee of the World Council will be held in Moscow from May 21-25. On October 21 the Polish Association of the Blind celebrated its silver jubilee. It now has 21,201 members, 10,500 of whom are employed. -- The Hungarian Federation of the Visually Handicapped (9,000 members) announced that from October, 1971, all visually handicapped Hungarians are receiving a compensation allowance, free of means test, provided they have reached the age of 18, in the amount of 500 Forints a month. The ABC DIGEST (Calif.) contains a farewell message from retiring President Mrs. Cathie Skivers, who is a member of the ACB Board of Directors. Cathie has served for seven years and is now about to enter a training course in Little Rock, Arkansas, to become an IRS representative. She is being succeeded by Casey DeLint, 7125 Hawthorne Avenue, #1, Los Angeles, CA 90046. At a touching ceremony which took place at the banquet of the ABC's November convention, Cathie received many spoken tributes and some beautiful gifts, including a Smith-Corona portable electric typewriter, a musical jewelry box, complete with ring, bracelet and earrings, and a lovely robe, gown and slipper set. During that convention two new affiliates were accepted -- The California Alliance of Blind Students and the Blind Workers Alliance. --The ABC contributed $100 toward a new, all-out attack on the problem of retinitis pigmentosa. -- The Library of Congress served 39,480 more active readers in 1971 than in the year before; an increase of 765,500 in total circulation of library materials. At the present time more than nine million people in this country wear contact lenses. Because of increased risk to the eyes, the National Society for the Prevention of Blindness strongly advises that the use of contact lenses of any type by industrial employees while at work should be prohibited, except in rare cases. They do not provide eye protection in the industrial sense; their use without eye and/or face protective devices of industrial quality should not be permitted. In dusty environments, small foreign particles which normally would be washed away by tears may become trapped beneath contact lenses and cause corneal abrasions. Electric arc flashes from a short circuit can cause contact lenses to adhere to the corneas. ***** ** ACB Officers * President: Judge Reese Robrahn, 329 Woodbury Lane, Topeka, Kansas 66606 * First Vice President: Dr. S. Bradley Burson, 917 Kenyon St., Downers Grove, Ill. 60515 * Second Vice President: Vernon Williams, 217 Western Union Bldg., Aberdeen, South Dakota 54701 * Secretary: Mrs. Mary Jane Schmitt, 510 Tarrington Rd., Rochester, New York 14609 * Treasurer: Fred Krepela, 241 State Street, Salem, Oregon 97301 ** Directors Mrs. Catherine Skivers, 836 Resota St., Hayward, California 94545 George Card, 605 South Few Street, Madison, Wisc. 53703 Floyd Qualls, 106 N.E. 2nd Street, Okla. City, Okla. 73104 Earl Scharry, 5714 Ridgway Ave., Rockville, MD 20851 J. Edward Miller, 2621 Chesterfield Ave., Charlotte, N.C. 28205 David Krause, 2121 P Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20037 Fred Lilley, 7629 Dale Ave., Richmond Heights, MO 63117 Don Cameron, 724 S. Davis Blvd., Tampa, Fla. 33609 ###