The Braille Forum Vol. XV January 1977 No. 7 Published Monthly by the American Council of the Blind Oklahoma City, Oklahoma * President: Floyd Qualls 501 N. Douglas Ave. Oklahoma City, OK 73160 * National Representative: Durward K. McDaniel 1211 Connecticut Avenue, N.W. Suite 506 Washington, DC 20036 (202) 833-1251 * Editor: Mary T. Ballard 190 Lattimore Road Rochester, NY 14620 (716) 244-8364 The Braille Forum seeks to promote the independence and dignity of all blind people; to stress responsibility of citizenship; to alert the public to the abilities and accomplishments of the blind. The Braille Forum carries official news of the American Council of the Blind and its programs. It is available for expression of views and concerns common to all blind persons. ***** ** Contents Notice to Subscribers ACB Officers Braille Forum Expansion: Another Goal Achieved, by Floyd Qualls Ursla Goes to Mexico, by Alice Bankston Office for the Blind, RSA -- Its Progress -- Won or Lost? Hope for Political Clout of Handicapped Citizens Do They Really Want to Hire the Handicapped? From the Secretary -- Summary, ACB Mid-Year Board Meeting, by M. Helen Vargo Summary, ACB Board of Publications Meeting, by Harold Dachtler Leonard Robinson, the Pragmatist Blind Power, the Name of the Game? NAC Holds Annual Membership and Board Meetings, by Reese Robrahn Red and Peggy Graham -- Their New Career Plans for a Comprehensive Health Security System, by Betty P. Dooley New Blind Vocabulary Abacus in a Rehabilitation Center, by Johnette B. Weiss Let's Share Resources, by Norma L. Schecter Employment Expansion for the Blind ACB Affiliate News Washington Council Convention, 1976 Our Goal is Service, by Delbert K. Aman Hawaii -- The 50th ACB Affiliate Employ the Blind -- Why/Why Not?, by Pat Price Here and There, by Elizabeth M. Lennon ***** ** Notice to Subscribers The Braille Forum is available in braille, large-type, and cassette (1-7/8 ips), and soundsheet. Items intended for publication may be submitted in print, braille, or tape and should be addressed to Mary T. Ballard, Editor, 190 Lattimore Road, Rochester, NY 14620, or to one of the Associate Editors: George Card, 605 South Few Street, Madison, WI 53703 Margaret Freer, 11816 West Blue Mound Road, Wauwatosa, WI 53226 Ione B. Miller, 9291 Fermi Avenue, San Diego, CA 92123 Joseph Wiedenmayer, 5604 Montgomery Street, Chevy Chase, MD 20015 Subscriptions and address changes should be sent to Floyd Qualls, 501 North Douglas Avenue, Oklahoma City, OK 73106. Those much-needed and appreciated cash contributions may be sent to ACB Treasurer J. Edward Miller, 1120 Coddington Place, Charlotte, NC 28211. Anyone wishing to remember ACB in his or her Last Will and Testament may use the following language in a special paragraph for that purpose: "I give and bequeath unto the American Council of the Blind, a District of Columbia not-for-profit corporation, the sum of $, __"; or "__ % of my net estate" or: "the following described property ... Said bequest is made and devised to be used for the Council's corporate purposes in the interest of blind and visually impaired persons." If your wishes are more complex, have your attorney communicate with the Council's National Office. ***** ** ACB Officers * President: Floyd Qualls, 501 North Douglas Avenue, Oklahoma City, OK 73106 * First Vice President: Alma Murphey, 4103 Castleman Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63110 * Second Vice President: Billie Elder, 5317 W. 29th Street, Little Rock, AR 72204 * Secretary: M. Helen Vargo, 833 Oakley Street, Topeka, KS 66606 * Treasurer: J. Edward Miller, 1120 Coddington Place, Charlotte, NC 28211 Photo Caption: Mary T. Ballard, editor of "The Braille Forum" which is published by the American Council of the Blind is presented with a check by John S. Crowley, president of the American Foundation for the Blind and Jansen Noyes, Jr., chairman, AFB's Board of Trustees. The check in the amount of $20,000 is part of a three-year grant given to the Braille Forum to help increase the circulation and number of issues published. The Forum, now published bimonthly, will, over the period of the grant, be published monthly. The grant was given to the Braille Forum as part of the Foundation's outreach effort designed to reach more blind citizens with information. ***** ** Braille Forum Expansion: Another Goal Achieved By Floyd Qualls When the Braille Forum was established as the official organ of the American Council of the Blind, a major objective was to publish it on a monthly basis. Throughout the years, the Board of Publications and the ACB Board of Directors have kept this objective in mind. The membership, assembled in national convention, has directed expansion of the Braille Forum be a top priority project of the Council. This directive has not been ignored, and at last, expansion is here. On October 28, 1976, Mrs. Mary Ballard, Braille Forum Editor, and Mr. Durward McDaniel, ACB National Representative, were present at a public ceremony in New York City to receive a grant for Forum expansion. The grant was awarded by John S. Crowley, President of the American Foundation for the Blind, and Jansen Noyes, Jr., Chaiman, AFB's Board of Trustees. The ceremony was held in the AFB headquarters. This $20,000 grant, together with funds provided by the American Council, makes it possible to finance several changes in the output of the Braille Forum. We are deeply grateful to the American Foundation for this assistance. It is another demonstration of the Foundation's concern for and interest in the blind of America. On November 6, 1976, the ACB Board of Publications met in St. Louis, Missouri. A thorough discussion of the Braille Forum took place, and as a result, it made the following recommendations to the ACB Board of Directors: (a) that the Braille Forum be issued on a monthly basis; (b) that a vinyl disc (soundsheet) edition of the Forum be inaugurated; (c) that the open-reel edition of the Forum be gradually phased out; and (d) that the editor be a full-time employee of the American Council of the Blind. The Board of Publications also had recommendations which were contingent upon the adoption of these major changes. The mid-year meeting of the ACB Board of Directors discussed these recommendations, evaluated costs and benefits; the Budget Committee designated funds for the changes; and the Board approved the recommendations and the budget. The first issue of the monthly edition will be January, 1977. Details necessary to publishing the disc edition will hold it up for a while, but hopefully it will be forthcoming in February. The first issue of the disc edition will go to every member of the American Council of the Blind. It will be accompanied by a card which the member is requested to check and return. Questions on the card call for an indication as to which edition of the Braille Forum is desired. This will update our mailing list and at the same time, we hope, bring correct addresses where members have moved and failed to report the change of address. The card will have the return address printed on it. All the member needs to do is check the edition and fill in the correct address where necessary. The Council wants every member to have the Braille Forum. Your cooperation will be appreciated. The ACB Board of Publications has extended to me the distinct privilege of announcing the selection of Mrs. Mary Ballard as the full-time editor of the Braille Forum. I quote Mr. Harold Dachtler's letter to Mrs. Ballard: As Chairman of the Board of Publications of the American Council of the Blind, it gives me great pleasure to inform you that the members of the Board of Publications have unanimously concurred on your continued service to the American Council of the Blind as editor of our publication The Braille Forum. Although the position is not a new one, but merely the expansion of the position of the duties that you now so ably perform, we wish to express to you our confidence and continued cooperation in the expansion of your duties. Your past service, competency, dedication, and quality of work performed deem it only proper that you should be our selection to carry on in the expansion program. We of the Board of Publications wish to thank you for the efficient and devoted service of the past and extend to you our fullest confidence in the continuation of the position in the expanded program. Cordially, Harold Dachtler, Chairman Board of Publications American Council of the Blind I am extremely pleased that Mary Ballard has agreed to accept editorship of the Braille Forum on a full-time basis. Her dedication and devotion to the Forum and to ACB is beyond question. I am sure Mary must have given much thought to this change in her life. However, her concern for the Forum and the blind guided her in this decision. Mary will officially begin her full-time employment with ACB on January 1, 1977. The Forum will be prepared in her home, as it has been since she took on the editorship (on a voluntary basis) in 1973. Her past performance has been outstanding, and now without demands of another job, she will build the Braille Forum to even greater degrees of excellence. Mary, thank you for accepting the assignment of ACB's Board of Publications. ***** ** Ursla Goes to Mexico By Alice Bankston Dreary January rain was sluicing down the window pane for the eighth straight day when Bob's letter came from Guadalajara. "Why don't you come down here for a winter vacation? We're having perfect weather!" (Why not indeed?) "I am going away for a week on the 24th, but if you get here before that time I can get you settled and introduce you to friends of mine who will look after you." I reached for the telephone. It was midday Thursday the 14th. I knew that I would need a Tourist Card for myself and an up-to-date rabies shot for my Seeing Eye dog, Ursla. The United Airlines clerk was helpful. "We will mail you an application which you will return to us, and then we will mail you a Tourist Card." "But there won't be time for that!" "Oh! Well, we'll send you both together and you just return the application form." And Ursla's rabies shot record? I phoned the vet. He had gone for the day. "But he will be here tomorrow, and we will get the record right in the mail," said his assistant. "Into the MAIL?" "The record must be stamped by the State in order to get the dog into Mexico." Getting the record in the mail on Friday meant the State Office in Salem, Oregon wouldn't get it until Monday, and it had to be back in my hands on Wednesday, for we would be leaving at 6:30 a.m. on Thursday. That was almost too much to expect of any bureaucratic office, but, wonder of wonders, it happened. The only unfortunate thing about our flight schedule was that we had a layover of four hours in Los Angeles, changing from United to Mexican Airlines. I need not have wondered about how to spend that time. When I checked in at the Mexican Airlines counter the girl said, glancing at Ursla's rabies record, "But this has to be stamped by the Mexican Consul." "MEXICAN CONSUL! Where is he?" "Downtown Los Angeles," she smiled. "I'll get you a car." She was back in five minutes with a smiling young Mexican man, who guided us smoothly through milling crowds of pedestrians, cars, buses, to a shining station wagon. We were nearly to downtown Los Angeles when, wondering how I was to tip this nice young man, I asked how long he had been working for the Mexican Airlines. "Oh! I don't work for the airline," he boasted, "I am independent. But I cost you less than a regular taxi. They charge thirteen dollars each way. I only charge ten. And I know the Mexican Consul. It costs four dollars for his stamp. But you don't even have to get out of the car. I will take care of everything, and no extra charge." No extra charge! Only twenty-five dollars extra for Ursla to go to Mexico, but we made it. Bob met us with his Mexican driver and a tall handsome young Peruvian friend in tow. They gathered our baggage and got Ursla and me settled in the hotel. Bob was to return about noon the next day. The hotel was a block from a charming small park in the middle of Guadalajara, surrounded by handsome office buildings, the opera house, and the post office. I was giving Ursla her early morning walk through the park when a smiling young man approached and said, "Aren't you Bob's friend?" Slightly surprised, I allowed as how I was. "Bob told me to look out for you; I'm Jim." Each morning as I walked Ursla a new young man repeated this performance until, gradually, we were six or seven newfound friends chatting on a bench in the park. Meanwhile, each day before he left and after he returned Bob took us to interesting places: the opera, the ballet, the fascinating Mariachi Plaza and a delightful resort on Lake Chapala, as well as many interesting restaurants. But, increasingly, Ursla was developing nerves. The roaring traffic and narrow sidewalks filled with chattering people were making her jumpy. After several days Ursla practically refused to leave the hotel and would shrink back behind me. Finally, Bob took us to a vet who gave her a tranquilizer. "This will just quiet her nerves," he assured us. We returned to the hotel to wait in the bar for a friend to arrive. Suddenly, Ursla passed out cold. Bob picked her up and carried her, head and feet dangling, across the lobby to the elevator. I am sure it was the first time a DOG ever passed out in their bar, and people probably wondered what we had been feeding her. With regret I decided to cut our visit short. Ursla was too important to me to jeopardize her health and training. So, two days later, Bob and Paulo took us to the airport. When we checked in at the ticket counter, the clerk took one look at us and exclaimed in explosive Spanish, "No, no, no, no, no!" "No, what?" said I. "No, she cannot go alone. She is blind!" "But I flew down alone in your airline." "No, no, go and see the manager," said the clerk. "Bring the manager here," said Bob, in his most commanding tone. The manager came, bringing a huge book of rules, which he spread out on the counter. After considerable conversation in both Spanish and English, they agreed that since we HAD flown down alone, we could fly back alone, but Ursla would have to be muzzled. This had never been required before, but I did have a muzzle with me. But where in my two suitcases? So, with curious pedestrians milling all around, Paulo and I spread the suitcases open on the floor and rummaged, finally finding the muzzle. So, without further mishap, we bade farewell to Mexico. It would appear that dog guides are little known in Mexico. Along the crowded sidewalks people never made way for us, as people do in the United States; men would whistle to Ursla; people insisted on patting her when we paused at curbs; she was obviously a matter of curiosity. While we were not refused at any restaurant, we were refused overnight accommodations at a lake resort. ***** ** Office for the Blind, RSA -- Its Progress -- Won or Lost? In August, a reorganization plan for the Rehabilitation Services Administration was published officially by HEW. A part of the plan would give the Office for the Blind substantial authority, significant administrative functions and status, and would create an executive position for an assistant commissioner to direct the office. Late in November (the plan had not yet been implemented), it was learned that the RSA commissioner, Andrew Adams, was commencing action to rescind the plan. To avoid the consequences of such a negative action, the following letter was sent to Secretary Mathews, who had not replied by the time this issue went to press. We will report the results of this and related actions in future issues. * December 10, 1976 Dr. David Mathews, Secretary Health, Education and Welfare 200 Independence Avenue, S.W. Washington, D.C. 20201 Dear Dr. Mathews: On August 17, 1976, a Statement of Organization, Functions and Delegations of Authority was published in the Federal Register as a reorganization plan for the Rehabilitation Services Administration. We approved of this reorganization plan as the Administration's fulfillment of a longstanding commitment to upgrade the Office for the Blind and Visually Handicapped and to give it greater administrative authority to achieve the legislative mission to assist and benefit visually impaired persons. We have learned unofficially that certain superficial objections have been raised to the reorganization plan and that it will soon be rescinded unless you intervene to prevent that undesirable action. All of the major organizations of and for the blind have strongly advocated the upgrading of the Office for the Blind and Visually Handicapped, and we protest the contemplated rescission of this progressive action. We request a conference at the earliest mutually convenient date for the purpose of discussing the preservation of this reorganization plan. Further, we request that the Office of the Assistant Commissioner for the Blind and Visually Handicapped not be filled prior to the requested conference or before a new Commissioner of RSA is appointed. Respectfully, Affiliated Leadership League of and for the Blind of America By Durward K. McDaniel, Chairperson ***** ** Hope for Political Clout of Handicapped Citizens Many members of the American Coalition of Citizens with Disabilities, as individual citizens, participated rather extensively in the Carter presidential campaign. In many states, there was appointed a campaign coordinator for disabled citizens. This activity resulted in getting out the vote from many disabled people who had never before voted or who had not voted for many years. Through the efforts of representatives from major national organizations of handicapped individuals, including the American Council of the Blind and the American Coalition of Citizens with Disabilities, a position paper was formally adopted and widely distributed by the Carter campaign forces. The obvious objective of the activities summarized above was to achieve sufficient political stature to have a listened-to-voice in the Carter Administration in the event of his victory. During the last two weeks of November, through efforts of an ACCD Transition Committee, which among others included Eunice Fiorito and Reese H. Robrahn, we have now one full-time person and one part-time person serving on the Carter transition team to present across the board in all governmental activities the views and recommendations and rights of men, women, and children who have disabilities. The full-time person, Larry Allison, is the administrative assistant to Eunice Fiorito in the Mayor's Commission for the Handicapped in New York City. The part-time person is Al Pimentel, who is the administrative assistant to the president of Gallaudet, the national college for the deaf here in Washington, D.C. We have been given to understand that the Carter people are interested in having our input and recommendations in all areas of program planning, legislation, reorganization and coordination, and our recommendations for selection of appointees to fill important administrative positions which have responsibility for the administration of programs and services for the handicapped. We have our foot in the door and we have their ear. Whether we are welcomed in and listened to is yet to be seen, but we are optimistic! ***** ** Do They Really Want to Hire the Handicapped? (Editor's Note: The following is taken from a memorandum dated December 8, 1976, from Reese Robrahn, ACB's Director of Research and Governmental Affairs, to ACB Board members and affiliate presidents and others, and for the purposes of publication here, it has been given the above caption.) The word is out that the Ford Administration plans to fill 300 Civil Service positions under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 having the general job title of Equal Opportunities Specialist, ranging from G.S. 5 to G.S. 11, with salaries from $9,303 to $17,056. Most of the 300 positions will be filled in the HEW regional offices. It is our understanding that none of these positions will be advertised. Therefore, if you are interested or if anyone you know is interested, and you are already on the Civil Service Register, you should contact the U.S. Civil Service Office nearest you for further information. If you are interested but not already on the Federal Civil Service Register, it will be necessary to seek one of these positions through political appointment. Your Congressman or Senator is in the best position to assist you in the matter of the appointment. Time is of the essence because all of these positions are to be filled before January 20. ***** ** From the Secretary -- Summary, ACB Mid-Year Board Meeting By M. Helen Vargo President Floyd Qualls presided at the mid-year Board meeting of the American Council of the Blind on November 6 at the Sheraton Airport Inn in St. Louis. All members were present, as well as Mary Ballard, Editor of the Braille Forum, Durward McDaniel, National Representative; and Harold Dachtler, Chairman of the Board of Publications. Also present were other invited members who made reports and interested observers. The meeting was long and dealt with considerations of many routine internal functions and immediate and long-range future plans for the organization. All actions taken at the meeting were preceded by much careful consideration, but lack of space will not allow this report to reflect that. Decisions: In some states, blind citizens have been quite involved in the state-level conferences preliminary to the national White House Conference on Handicapped Individuals, but it was pointed out that there is no blind person in a decision-making position on the National Conference staff. Efforts will be made to bring about more adequate representation of blind citizens in this important task force effort. Since adequate transportation dramatically affects both employment and social opportunities for blind individuals, a committee was established to compile information on what transportation alternatives are available, their effectiveness, cost, funding, etc. The information is to be distributed to agencies and organizations. The matter of providing for a more expedient voting procedure at national conventions was referred to the Constitution and By-Laws Committee; and the Convention Guidelines are to be made more explicit regarding convention invitations and host responsibilities. A grant from the American Foundation for the Blind will assist ACB to realize one of its desires: expansion of the frequency and circulation of the Braille Forum. A paid editor and a soundsheet edition of the Forum will soon be realized. A more complete, updated, and useful mailing list is also to be realized through a computerized service. Membership in the Affiliated Leadership League of and for the Blind of America (ALL) and in the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights continues to enhance ACB's efforts to improve services to and status of visually impaired people, and the Council's new membership in the Braille Authority of North America (BANA) will give further credence to ACB's stature in policy-making and decision-making roles affecting the lives and equal opportunities for blind and other handicapped Americans. Guidelines for Thrift Store income sharing are being established to provide for membership expansion, newsletter establishment and/or expansion, and fund-raising projects for affiliates. The Audit Committee found all financial records in order; and the meeting closed with approval of the 1977 budget. ***** ** Summary, ACB Board of Publications Meeting By Harold Dachtler St. Louis, Missouri, was the site of the first meeting of the newly elected/appointed American Council of the Blind Board of Publications on Friday evening, November 5. An agenda of important items awaited our attention. The Board unanimously concurred that the Braille Forum should be published monthly and that a full-time, paid editor was needed to carry out this project. We were much pleased when on the following day the Board of Directors of the American Council of the Blind accepted this recommendation and made it a part of the forthcoming year's budget. Therefore, the Board of Publications is pleased to announce that the full-time editor will be Mary Ballard, who in the past has done so well in editing the Braille Forum. We are also pleased because this is a big step forward in the ever-developing program of ACB. The ACB Board also accepted our recommendation that the Braille Forum be produced on flexible soundsheet. Negotiations are now proceeding to implement this project. Every member of ACB will receive a copy of the first monthly issue produced on soundsheet. Included with the soundsheet will be a postcard printed both in print and braille, upon which you may indicate in which form you prefer to receive the magazine -- braille, large type, cassette, or soundsheet. We encourage you to please be prompt in returning these postcards so that you will not miss the next issue of the magazine. Returning the marked postcard will also help ACB to establish a more complete and comprehensive mailing list. When the soundsheet edition becomes a part of our program, we would encourage your comments. The Board of Publications will propose at the 1977 convention a By-Law amendment designed to better serve the needs and functions of our Board. At present it is possible that all five members could be replaced at the same time. We wish to provide more continuity to the structure of the Publications Board by providing staggered terms for the members, thus providing always a carryover of knowledgeable people from one period to the next. Although some discussion has been heard about eliminating the word "Braille" from the title of our magazine (a resolution concerning this was introduced at the 1976 convention and referred to the Board of Publications), the Board concurred that the title, The Braille Forum, is synonymous with the organization itself. Thus, the Board voted to retain the present name of the magazine. No Publications Workshop will be scheduled for the forthcoming national convention. We would encourage you, however, if you have any questions in this area, to please contact the editor of the Braille Forum or me. The summation of the workshop we sponsored at the 1976 convention is now available from Floyd Qualls, 501 North Douglas Avenue, Oklahoma City, OK 73106. Please write to him if you wish a copy. Copies were mailed to affiliate presidents and editors of affiliate publications. The affiliate publications directory is now available in print only. If you wish a copy, please contact Mary Ballard at 190 Lattimore Road, Rochester, NY 14620, or contact me at 600 West Rouse Street, Lansing, MI 48910. Does your regional library receive copies of the Braille Forum so that the magazine may be circulated to the readers? If not, why not? Ask them to request the magazine regularly. In this manner, more people will hear more of the story of ACB. The next meeting of the Board of Publications will be at the 1977 convention in Miami Beach. Our meetings are open to all. * ACB Board of Publications Harold Dachtler, Chairman, 600 West Rouse Street, Lansing, Michigan 48910 Harriet Fielding, 1880 Pacific Avenue, No. 504, San Francisco, California 94109 Sue Graves, 1542 Simpson Street, No. 5, Madison, Wisconsin 53716 Judy Pool, 1917 N. W. 30th, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73118 Phyllis Stern, 1178 S. Kenilworth, Oak Park, Illinois 60304 ***** ** Leonard Robinson, the Pragmatist We have overlooked a well-deserved public recognition of Leonard Robinson's vital contribution to the vending facility program and of his historic book, Light at the Tunnel End. On April 23, 1975, Gladys Noon Spellman, U.S. Representative from Maryland, entered the following in the Congressional Record: "Mr. Speaker: It is my pleasure to inform the House of the forthcoming publication of a book entitled 'Light at the Tunnel End,' by Leonard A. Robinson. In this volume, Mr. Robinson, who is blind, has presented his firsthand account of the legislative and administrative history of the blind vending stand program in the United States, which had its inception in the Randolph-Sheppard Act of 1936. This legislation was brought up to date by amendments passed last December by the 93rd Congress. The text of the Amendments has been blended into the original legislation and appears as an appendix to Mr. Robinson's book. "The fact that more than 3,600 blind persons are currently employed in the operation of vending stands and machines in the Federal-state program is indisputable testimony to the success of the original idea and to the good sense of many Americans who have made the program a useful and necessary part of our economic life. "Upon retirement from the Government, which he served with distinction, Mr. Robinson activated his dream of telling the Randolph-Sheppard story, and threw himself into several voluntary pursuits in the field of blindness and the handicapped. Always an activist, he is well aware that much more remains to be done. And, pragmatist that he is -- a pragmatist being a successful dreamer -- he reminds us all at the tunnel end that -- 'In whatever endeavor the handicapped person finds himself, he is out to prove that ability, not disability, is what counts.' "And, thanks to the staying power of folks like Leonard Robinson, the confidence of the American people in the abilities of the handicapped has never been higher." Light at the Tunnel End is certain to become a landmark work and an increasingly valuable reference as the vending facility program strengthens and develops. Copies of the book are still available from the ACB National Office, 1211 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Suite 506, Washington, DC 20036, at a cost of $6. ***** ** Blind Power, the Name of the Game? You may find revealing the transcript of a news clip on the CBS Evening News, Wednesday, November 17, 1976. Perhaps when agitation becomes merely the means to an end -- which would be vested political and economic power -- mere facts, the rights and quality services for visually impaired individuals must suffer unless the would-be losers reject such tactics and such power ambitions. Apparently, the pickets and CBS personnel really believed that the named agencies influenced the flow of Federal funds for agencies for the blind. The named agencies do not train blind persons, nor does either agency have anything to do with the amount of welfare blind people receive, and it is left to your imagination how they can prevent the blind from reaching their full potential. Walter Cronkite: The Federal Government spends $140 million a year for aid to the blind. Today, blind people have demonstrated in New York in protest against the way that money is spent and the way their needs are presented to the public. Gerry Landay reports: Landay: They came from 27 states, well over one hundred of them. They represent the militant National Federation of the Blind. The NFB, which styles itself the champion of blind rights. The targets of the protest were the American Foundation for the Blind, and the National Accreditation Council, which influences the flow of Federal funds for agencies for the blind. The protesters claim these older organizations prevent the blind from reaching their full potential -- often training them for routine work at substandard wages. The Council and the Foundation contend that the blind are handicapped and cannot always demand the same pay as sighted workers. As in many such confrontations, the central issue is power. Ralph Sanders, NFB: We want to represent ourselves. We want to have self-determination in the affairs that affect our lives. We want to control the agencies that are set up to serve us. L.E. Apple, AFB: The National Accreditation Council is going about doing the accrediting business as college accreditation, or hospital accreditation, all the kinds of accreditation from which we benefit every day, and I think the National Federation don't feel they have enough voice in that. So, from that respect, I think it's a power grab on the part of the National Federation of the Blind. Landay: The outlook for this power struggle in the world of the blind is uncertain, but if today's events proved anything, it was the picket signs and sit-ins are not reserved for the sighted only. ***** ** NAC Holds Annual Membership and Board Meetings By Reese Robrahn The National Accreditation Council for Agencies Serving the Blind and Visually Handicapped held its annual membership meeting on November 18, 1976, and its Board of Directors meeting on the following day at the Roosevelt Hotel, New York City. Peter Salmon, a name known to blind and deaf-blind people throughout the country, at a special dinner given in his honor, was the recipient of the NAC Award for 1976. Congratulatory messages from, and special appearances by colleagues and his many friends highlighted the festivities. Twelve positions on the NAC Board of Directors were filled by election. Eight of the twelve elected are blind. Three members who are blind rotated off the Board -- Julius Morris, John Crandell, and Harold Bleekley. Three new members who are blind came on to the Board: Dr. Robert Bottenberg of the Blinded Veterans Association; and Norman Robinson and Raymond A. Kempf of the American Council of the Blind. Seventeen of the 35 NAC Board members are blind. The NAC Board of Directors, at its 1975 meeting, voted to hold only one meeting of its membership each year and to reduce the size of its Executive Committee to eight members by eliminating some at-large positions. The moves were justified on the ground of financial constraints. ACB voiced strong objection to the moves on the grounds that the result would be to place more power and decision-making in the hands of fewer people, the Executive Committee and the NAC staff, and with a corresponding reduction in authority and decision-making of the Board, a larger and more representative body. While it is true that three members of the Executive Committee are blind -- Louis H. Rives, Howard H. Hanson, and William Coppage -- all three are heads of agencies; and the Executive Committee has no member who is a representative of a consumer membership organization of blind people. ACB has registered its protest to this state of affairs and has served notice that the situation must be corrected by the next annual meeting. In the same vein, but justified on the grounds of expediting the finalization for publication of standards, the NAC Commission on Standards recommended that it be given final authority for approval of standards for publication, thus removing that authority from the Board of Directors. Again, ACB strenuously objected to the proposed change, and this time our objection was heeded and the motion was voted down. NAC holds an election annually at which approximately one-third of its Board of Directors positions are filled. Each year ACB submits to the NAC Nominations Committee a list of recommended nominees. If you are interested in serving in such capacity, we urge you to contact the ACB National Office. ***** ** Red and Peggy Graham --Their New Career These traveling celebrities have become well known to ACB audiences and to the public through the air entertaining and educational appearances at ACB meetings and on radio and TV throughout the country. We have all enjoyed Red's reenactment of old and improved scenes from Duffy's Tavern -- the old radio show in which he starred for years as Archie. And Peggy is always there to please the audience with her singing of some of the old standards. They have become very good friends, but they are more than entertainers: Everywhere they go, they publicize and promote the abilities and employability of blind and handicapped persons. We appreciate them more than we can say and hope that all of you will have a chance to meet and enjoy them in 1977. Red and Peggy have made this a new career for themselves -- traveling all over the country, without cost or expense to organizations where they appear at conventions, luncheons, and other events. ***** ** Plans for a Comprehensive Health Security System By Betty P. Dooley, Staff Member Health Security Action Council The Kennedy/Corman Bill was introduced on January 4, 1977, the opening day of the 95th Congress. The re-introduction is necessary because all bills, by law, die with the closing of the Congress in which they are introduced. The identical numbers for the bill, in the Senate, S. 3 and in the House, H.R. 21, were reserved. If you recall, the Kennedy-Corman Bill was first introduced in the 92nd Congress -- January, 1971. It was re-introduced in the 93rd and 94th Congresses. The bill, because of its strength as the only national health insurance bill designed for the consumer of health care, picked up substantial support in each of the successive Congresses despite opposition from the insurance industry, the medical lobbies, and their allies. The years of delay have enabled us to identify supporters like yourselves around the country and inform many people about this complex issue. However, the months ahead offer the supporters of comprehensive national health insurance, like the Kennedy bill, our greatest challenge. Even though we will have a Democrat, Jimmy Carter, in the white House, it is necessary that people demonstrate their support of this legislation to counterbalance a strong and well-financed opposition. * During This Important Period We Ask That You: 1. Write to Jimmy Carter and get at least three friends to write, also, telling him that one reason he won was because of his stand on national health insurance compared to Ford's. You might want to express your concern that the Health Insurance Association of America (HIAA) predicts that President Carter will not put through comprehensive national health insurance. Obviously, the HIAA, with 318 member companies who sell most of the nation's private health insurance, will try to block comprehensive legislation. 2. Distribute copies of our petition, if you haven't already done so. Petitions can be obtained from your national office. 3. Form a committee and call upon your Congressional representatives. Ask them to co-sponsor S. 3/H.R. 21. Many co-sponsors demonstrate the practical possibilities of getting this bill signed into law. 4. Ask the organizations to which you belong (church, civic, union) to pass a resolution in support of S. 3/H.R. 21. Send a copy of the resolution to President Carter. 5. Write letters to the editor of your local paper, calling on President Carter to give the country a decent national health insurance bill. Call attention to the fact that this is the one piece of legislation that will do the job and save money. 6. Arrange a meeting with your mayor or your state legislators, or both. Ask these people to send a letter to President Carter discussing the enormous drain on the city and state budgets by the present inflationary and inequitable system. * The Question of Costs: The claim that Health Security will require vast new outlays of Federal funds is invalid. These big numbers which are casually tossed around only camouflage the real facts. The fact is that we spent $133 billion last year on health care. The costs have more than doubled since the Nixon/Ford Administration came to power in 1969. The average American right now is working one month each year just to pay for health care, and experts now estimate that if we do nothing about our double-digit inflation of health costs, those costs will double again over the next five years and could triple over the next ten. The Ford Administration's own estimates show that there is no predictable end to the cost increases, increases that don't buy more or better care. Obviously, something must be done. No national health plan, not Health Security or any of the others, would cost anywhere near the $133 billion we spent for health care last year. Health Security will cost less than we are now spending, not more. With Health Security, we can buy more and better health care for our scarce dollars. We can bring health care within the reach, as well as the means, of all our citizens. And we can save money at the same time. With Health Security, we would take the $133 billion we are now spending on our wasteful, inefficient, and inequitable health care delivery system and spend it in a new way. Instead of paying out money right out of our pockets and through our employers (if we have one) for doctors, hospitals, insurance and the rest, Health Security proposes that we collect funds for health care through employer-employee shared pay roll taxes and match that with general Federal revenues. Naturally, when we add to the Federal health budget funds we've been spending out-of-pocket in the private health sector, it's going to make the Federal budget look bigger. But it won't be "new" money. It will be the same old money we are now spending. Very little really "new" money will be involved, and people who tell you differently are mistaken. By collecting the funds for health in this way, not only will we be able to provide care to everyone who needs it, but we will also be able to save money, doing it by establishing strong, built-in cost control mechanisms. In fact, the Congressional Budget Office has estimated that a tax-financed comprehensive national health insurance program could save us over $20 billion a year if the built-in cost controls really work. If we do nothing, the Congressional Budget Office estimates that by 1981, we will be paying $252 billion for health care. Health Security will do what needs to be done to control costs and assure access to every American. ***** ** New Blind Vocabulary (Reprinted from ABC DIGEST, Published by the Associated Blind of California, September, 1976) blindalert -- Alert by the organized blind for possible discrimination against the blind in employment, housing, transportation, etc. blindbreak -- An ardent or extremist supporter of rights or privileges for the blind. blind curtain -- A barrier to the exchange of information and ideas among the blind, and/or barrier to the free association among blind people, created by the hostility of one organization of the blind toward another or others. blind-in -- Protest sit-in by a group of blind persons. blindlining -- The attempt to persuade, gain favor or privilege by using one's blindness. blindocide -- The destruction by blind pressure groups of programs, benefits, or conveniences established for the blind, preventing other blind persons from benefitting from them. blindshock -- The effect of sudden loss of sight. blind-glancing -- The light touching of someone by a blind person. ***** ** Abacus in a Rehabilitation Center By Johnette Bartholomew Weiss (Editor's Note: Mrs. Weiss is an abacus instructor at the Arkansas Enterprises for the Blind.) Although the abacus has been used for thousands of years in many parts of the world, it is very new in work for the blind in the United States. I began instructing abacus at Arkansas Enterprises for the Blind in 1967. At that time abacus was instructed for only two of the eight daily instructional periods. In that same year something exciting happened at AEB which strongly influenced the future of the abacus. The Taxpayer Service Representative training program began, and it was quickly discovered that the use of basic math would be essential in order for a person to be successful both in the training program and later in the actual job situation. Since at that time there seemed to be no really fast and accurate way of doing basic math for a totally blind person, the abacus was quickly called to order. Trainees immediately began to work to obtain good math skills with the four basic processes, with an emphasis on decimals and word problems, since the Taxpayer Service Representative class would be dealing mainly with word problems involving the use of money. Of course, as time passed and a better understanding of what was most needed for the program was discovered, a systematic program of study was developed for the instruction of abacus. A program of the four basic processes divided into levels of problems was adapted. Problems containing decimals were commonly used; therefore, it became easier for the trainees to work with decimal problems because they were no longer frightened by this type of problem. Problems were written down and made available for the trainee to have to work both during scheduled and unscheduled time in order to accelerate his rate of progress. Oral and written tests were designed to evaluate and record progress. Thus abacus became an important part of the training program at Arkansas Enterprises for the Blind. Abacus was then instructed during all eight of the daily instructional periods. You may wonder just how successful the use of the abacus has been for the TSR candidates. There have been numerous instances in which trainees have come to the Center using the Perkins Brailler, the Taylor Slate, the slate and the stylus, or paper and pen to work basic math problems. When their math skills with these tools were evaluated, they often scored thirty, forty, and fifty percent. After a four-month training program with an emphasis on abacus, their math scores would soar to ninety percent or more. They would then be accepted into the TSR training program, during which they would use the abacus successfully: later the trainees would be hired to work for the Internal Revenue Service as Taxpayer Service Representatives in different parts of the United States. Although the abacus has been in great demand by trainees wishing to enter the TSR training program, many other trainees at AEB have learned to use the abacus. Trainees who wish to become vending stand operators or small business managers need a good understanding and knowledge of the abacus. The abacus is ideal in helping them to keep accurate records of their sales and orders. Many young people in the summer college preparatory courses offered at AEB wish to become competent with the abacus. While approximately one half of the young students have gone to the schools for the blind, the remaining one half have attended public schools. Some of them from both the residential and public schools have been introduced to the abacus, while many of them have not. Consequently, they want to learn as much about the abacus as they are able during the nine-week summer training program. They realize that the colleges which they plan to attend will require some math courses, while other courses which are not designated as math courses will contain some basic arithmetic. Thus they wish to be as prepared as possible. Although their minds are young and quick, they usually do not complete the entire abacus course during the nine-week period. The abacus is quite handy for teachers when grading papers. The correct and incorrect answers can be shown on the abacus, using one side of the board to show a correct answer and the other side of the board for the incorrect answer. The abacus is also good for setting telephone numbers until the person can either dial the number or write it in a permanent place. Trainees have also stated that they like to use the abacus to keep domino and card scores. Housewives use the abacus to balance checkbooks and to help prepare the household budget. People often take their abacus with them when shopping so that they can have an idea how much money they are spending. Thus the abacus can provide vocational, personal, and recreational uses. In short, it can be used by anyone, blind or sighted, who needs basic math. As you are to determine by my writing, my experience has been with adults. My work with these adults has indicated that the abacus is a good tool with which blind people can work basic arithmetic problems well. It is also my opinion that young blind students in the second and third grades of school should begin an early study of the abacus to help develop their basic mathematical skills. I believe if the blind child begins an early study of the abacus, his basic arithmetical concepts and skills should develop well. He thus should not have to suffer many of the previous problems with math that blind people have experienced during their educational and vocational lives. His basic math skills should be more in line with those of sighted children. As mentioned above, the abacus is new in work for the blind in the United States; however, I believe its popularity will continue to grow because of its inexpensiveness, its portability and its easiness to learn. ***** ** Let's Share Resources By Norma L. Schecter Though I am only a sighted associate member of the American Council of the Blind, sometimes interesting and useful items and ideas come across my desk, which you might enjoy sharing. I visited the Hong Kong Society for the Blind while on vacation, and there, half-way around the world, I learned of a substitute for Braillon duplicating plastic that is about half as expensive. It is called Plastic Foil and comes in the standard 11 by 11-1/2 in. braille size. It is somewhat less heavy; is a dove grey color; produces beautifully clear dots; and the last quoted price was about $9 for a box of 500 sheets. It comes from Christoffel Blindenmission, Attention W. Stein, 614 Bensheim-Schonberg, Nibelungenstrasse 124, West Germany. Another bargain in a substitute for a normally expensive item is a kind of plastic sheet with a gummed backing that can be used for labels on book covers, etc., instead of Braillabel, which recently is about $7.65 a package of twelve sheets. A slightly lighter-weight product in use in some of our California public schools is called Cleer-Adheer Milar Laminate sheets. In spite of the weird spelling, it is an excellent product, and when last we purchased it a few years ago, it was $7.50 for a package of 50 sheets. It is a DuPont product and in California is available in branch stores at Stationers Corporation. You'll have to check your own stationery supply houses for sources elsewhere. A friend of a friend of a former braille student sent information about an interesting free service called "Choice Magazine Listening," 14 Maple Street, Port Washington, NY 11050. They put out every month eight hours of unabridged articles, fiction, and poetry from such publications as Smithsonian, The New Yorker, Saturday Review, The New York Times Magazine, Atlantic, Esquire, Sports Illustrated, Playboy, and the Wall Street Journal. It is free of charge, on 8 RPM flexible discs to be played on a talking book machine for the blind or physically handicapped. A Californian who is the tape-recording specialist of the California Transcribers and Educators of the Visually Handicapped, really loves to do tape transcribing. In addition to all her textbook work, Mrs. Chris Mackey has also begun to tape a number of pleasure reading books. The tapes are available on free loan, and a list of those titles already recorded will be sent on request. Just write to Kings Transcribers Library, Attention Mrs. H. V. Mackey, 202 W. Grangeville, Hanford, CA 92320. Would anybody be interested in a more or less regular column for sharing our useful items and ideas, perhaps to be called "The Post Exchange?" ***** ** Employment Expansion for the Blind (Reprinted from Programs for the Handicapped, September, 1976) Optacon Fund, Inc., is a non-profit corporation which has been established to help blind individuals in California. The corporation plans to provide funding, direction, and management of programs aimed at increasing the abilities and independence of blind people. Goals of its Innovation and Expansion Project are to (1) identify and develop entry-level job positions not formerly held by blind persons; (2) provide for development of new sensory aids to meet employment needs in entry-level positions; (3) select and place qualified blind people in job positions; (4) disseminate information on employment opportunities for the blind; (5) produce a comprehensive catalog of employment-related sensory aids. The Optacon Fund Innovation and Expansion Project is funded by a $200,000 grant from the California Department of Rehabilitation and operates statewide. The Project offers businesses the full range of services described above. For further information, contact Optacon Fund headquarters, 399 Sherman Avenue, Suite 4, Palo Alto, CA 94306. ***** ** ACB Affiliate News * Washington Council Convention, 1976 Members of the Washington Council of the Blind met in Seattle September 11 at the Roosevelt Hotel for their fifth annual convention, hosted by the King County Chapter. State President Sarah McSparran called the convention to order and introduced the keynote speaker, Chris Gray. Chris had just recently returned from Washington, D.C., where he served his college internship in the National Office of the American Council of the Blind. Guest speakers and panelists highlighted an impressive array of services to the blind of Washington State. Elaine Davenport, Volunteer Coordinator of the Radio Talking Book Service, Seattle, spoke on the topic, "The Blind Person as a Volunteer Coordinator." Barbara Tolliver outlined the brailling and taping services available through the Washington Regional Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped in Seattle. Mr. Stan Briller, Director, Community Services for the Blind, Seattle, spoke concerning the values of cooperation between agencies, trends in services being offered, and some predictions concerning future agency trends. The traditional role of the residential school for blind children and changing patterns in teaching and in attitudes toward children in the residential school were explored by Dr. Roy Brothers, Superintendent, State School for the Blind, Vancouver. The formal program was rounded out by a panel on volunteerism, moderated by Dr. Jerome R. Dunham, Head, School of Rehabilitation, Seattle University. WCB members from the Seattle area, as well as those statewide, found the Saturday evening banquet of special interest. Bill Spidel, well-known local historian and authority on the pioneer years of early Seattle, was the speaker. His talk was based on research for his new book, Con Man with a Conscience, the biography of Seattle's pioneer medic, Dr. Maynard. Evidenced by interest displayed by members attending and comments overheard, this was WCB's most successful convention to date. * Our Goal Is Service By Delbert K. Aman The philosophy of the South Dakota Association of the Blind has always been one of serv-ice, not serv-us. Approximately fifteen years ago, the SDAB undertook a project of service to blind or visually impaired residents of South Dakota. A central supply of most frequently used aids and appliances was purchased and warehoused with the chairman of what came to be known as the Gadgets Committee. Blind persons in need of aids and appliances could then order direct from the committee chairman, usually receiving 24-hour service. This greatly reduced the time lag between placing an order and receiving the particular aid when ordering from the American Printing House for the Blind, the American Foundation for the Blind, etc. When an individual ordered an item or items, the appliance was mailed, along with a letter indicating it was a gift from the SDAB. Since its inception, the project has grown to a point where last year a total of 375 aids and appliances were distributed, at a cost of $1,018.44. Approximately 20% of the cost was recovered in donations from persons who received the various gadgetry. How does the project work? All professional staff of the South Dakota Office of Services to the Visually Impaired are authorized to demonstrate aids and appliances and to order those appliances which the individual client can use. Other persons who have previously benefitted from the project are able to write direct to the committee chairman for replacement of broken or lost items, or for additional aids if desired. Originally, a $10 per year limit was placed on each recipient. This limitation has been removed because of increasing costs of aids and because experience has shown that persons do not take unfair advantage of the project. Aids provided include braille paper, slates and styli, raised-line tablets, wide-lined paper, braille playing cards, jumbo playing cards, alarm clocks, watches, most kitchen aids, bingo cards and other games, needle threaders, white canes, etc. The project has proven to be a highly successful program of service to the blind and visually impaired in South Dakota. It fills what otherwise would be a gap in services and is the type of project a small state organization can effectively promote. The project has helped to bring the state agency and the organized blind in South Dakota closer and contributes to the overall spirit of cooperation between the two. * Hawaii -- The 50th ACB Affiliate The Aloha Council of the Blind will receive its Certificate of Affiliation at the American Council of the Blind convention, July 10-16 in Miami Beach. It was only last May that Durward McDaniel and Maxine Ligon (Maxine lived for many years in Hawaii) went to talk to visually impaired people, some of whom had expressed an interest in a progressive organization. They found an impressive number of able people who decided the American Council was the constructive way to go. And go they did -- first forming an organizing committee, then informing and recruiting new members. They held their organizing convention on October 16 and Arnold Sadler of Seattle was present to speak and to assist. Arnold came back extolling the virtues of these able and talented people, who have in a few months put together the largest organization in the state -- 103 members by mid-December, with prospects for many more by the time of the ACB national convention. Note well the elected officers, who represent a variety of occupations and professions. You will hear much of them in the future. They are: Mrs. Coletta Whitcomb, President; Yoshiaki Nakamoto, First Vice President; Rachel Pestana, Second Vice President; Terrance Tom, Third Vice President; Ann Ito, Secretary; and Donald Doi, Treasurer. * Employ The Blind -- Why/Why Not? By Pat Price With emphasis upon employment of the blind and visually impaired, the program of the fifth annual conference of the American Council of the Blind of Indiana carefully analyzed both sides of the issue: Why and/or why not? The vehicles used to present the realistic aspects of the problem were primarily two panel discussions; one composed of executives from Indiana businesses and industries -- some who had employed blind or visually impaired individuals and some who had not; another composed of blind and visually impaired consumers -- some now gainfully employed and some still seeking employment. Then, through graphic demonstrations by representatives of Telesensory Systems, Inc. and Visualtek Corp., all became increasingly aware that with the variety of electronic aids now available, plus several currently being research developed, the blind consumer is, and will be even more flexible and productive in the rapidly changing and highly competitive labor market. Following Assistant Director of Rehabilitation Services, Chicago Department of HEW, Alfred Slicer's "Technical Analysis of the Cost Effect of Rehabilitation, Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow," at the Saturday luncheon, conventioners were apprised of additional trends and future insights through reports on the American Council of the Blind and blind women in the world by ACB First Vice President Alma Murphey; Supplemental Security Income, by Donald G. Morrow of Chicago; the White House Conference on the Handicapped, by Indiana alternate delegate, Doris Clevenger; Library Services, by Barney McEwan; Indiana School for the Blind, by Superintendent Durward Hutchinson; My Spot on the Circle, by IRS Director of Blind Services, Frederick A. Silver; and Affiliated Leadership League (ALL), by Pat Price, who attended the ALL First Delegate Assembly as the representative of the Visually Impaired Secretarial Transcribers Association (VISTA). Paul R. Filpus was again chosen to lead ACBI as president, with Vice President, Pat Price; Secretary, Evelyn Meyer; Treasurer, Horace Ferguson; and Directors, Doris Clevenger, Mary Osborne, Dr. Henry Hofstetter, John Huffman, Harvey Jeffries, Mary Workman, Michael Schelb, and Donald Koors. Although 1976 had been a good year, conventioners and guests left the conference confident that with the continued cooperation by its officers and members, an even greater impact upon the community will be apparent during 1977 as ACBI attains more of its stated goals. ***** ** Here and There By Elizabeth M. Lennon From ILLINOIS BRAILLE MESSENGER: Access Chicago, a Department of Rehabilitation institute in Chicago, which is working for the creation of a barrier-free environment for all people -- the handicapped, the young, and the elderly -- has recently published three booklets concerned with the elimination of environmental barriers: "A Guide to Community Action for the Handicapped," $1; "Urban Wheelchair Use -- A Human Factors Analysis," $2, and "A Resource Guide for the Physically Handicapped of Chicago," $1. Copies are available from Access Chicago, 345 E. Superior Street, Chicago, IL 60601. The recently opened Kopy-Kat Tape Center, 845 Willow Road, Menlo Park, California 94025, is offering quality name-brand, unlabeled cassettes at reasonable prices. C60 cassettes are $.69 each; C90 cassettes, $.89 each; plastic boxes, $.10 each. There is a $.10 shipping charge on each cassette. The Center also offers quality duplicating service. The American Blind Lawyers Association offers to all interested blind lawyers and law students a recorded summary of U.S. LAW WEEK on cassette tape. This service is made possible through the assistance of the Legal Department of Textron, Inc., of Providence, Rhode Island. For further information write Oral O. Miller, President, American Blind Lawyers Association: 3701 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Apartment 220, Washington, DC 20008. The third National Conference on Radio Reading Services for Blind and Physically Handicapped Persons will be held March 14-17 at a Holiday Inn in Bethesda, Maryland. The meeting is being sponsored by the American Foundation for the Blind and hosted by the Washington Ear, the radio reading service for the Washington, D.C. area. Included on the program will be such topics as funding, public relations, consumer input, and various specific areas of operating a service. Some time will be devoted to the organization of an association of radio reading services. A $10 registration fee will be charged before February 15, and $15 after that date. For further information, write J. Albert Asenjo, American Foundation for the Blind, 15 West 16th Street, New York, NY 10011. Rudolph V. Lutter, Jr., a senior attorney with the Federal Communications Commission, was recently appointed to the Governor's Committee for Employment of the Handicapped of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. A member of the American Blind Lawyers Association, he has been without sight since age nine. From BRAILLE BOOK REVIEW: Readers may now order a free subscription to the braille edition of NEW YORK TIMES LARGE TYPE WEEKLY. Orders will be filled on a first come, first serve basis. Each issue is 60 to 70 pages and carries an editorial, news reports, and columns on a variety of subjects from business to sports and entertainment. Contact your local braille lending library to have your name placed on the mailing list. From AFB NEWSLETTER, October, 1976: The Migel Medal, presented annually by the American Foundation for the Blind for outstanding service in work for the blind, was awarded this year to M. Robert Barnett, former executive director of the Foundation, and to Carl Kupfer, M.D., director of the National Eye Institute. The medal, established in 1937 to honor the late M.C. Migel, first president of the Foundation, is given annually in recognition of outstanding contributions in work for the blind, both directly in the field of blindness and indirectly outside of the blindness system. ---- The first "Sound Track," a series of monthly half-hour programs produced by AFB's Public Education Division, was mailed in mid-October to some thirty radio reading services throughout the country. The service will include information about the work of the Foundation and other organizations, legislation, aids and appliances, research, etc. For further information, contact Arthur Zigouras, Public Education Division, American Foundation for the Blind, 15 West 16th Street, New York, NY 10011. ---- Some fifty new items are listed in AFB's 1976 catalog, "Aids and Appliances for the Blind and Visually Impaired." Copies of the catalog, available in print, braille, and disc editions, may be requested from AFB's Aids and Appliances Division. ---- A Guide to Expanding Social Security Services for Blind Persons Through Title XX of the Social Security Act, a compilation of regulations and data both on the Federal and individual state levels concerning Title XX, is now available from AFB. The Guide sells for $6 and includes a regular updating mechanism (bi-monthly, quarterly, etc., as needed) consisting of change sheets on Title XX regulations and state Comprehensive Annual Service Programs (CASP's). Because of the shortage of Perkins Braillers in the United States and the long waiting period for new ones, the National Braille Association would like to help its members locate machines that may no longer be used or wanted. NBA will publish a notice of the availability of such machines in its quarterly Bulletin. Send your name, address, price and condition of the Brailler to Mrs. Lester Rice, Editor, NBA Bulletin, 9221 Avers Avenue, Evanston, IL 60203. Potential buyers will contact you directly. As the result of an agreement signed by the Director of the California Department of Rehabilitation and the Director of the State Agency on Aging, disabled senior citizens of the state will, for the first time in history, be provided vocational rehabilitation services and assistance in finding employment. The program will begin shortly in the San Diego area and from there will be developed statewide. Dr. Peter J. Salmon, Administrative Vice President of the Industrial Home for the Blind, Brooklyn, long-time leader in work for the blind and deaf-blind, received the NAC Award of the National Accreditation Council for Agencies Serving the Blind and Visually Handicapped at a dinner at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York City on October 17. The NAC Award is given from time to time to a man or woman who has shown outstanding leadership in improving standards of service to blind persons nationwide. Established in 1969, the Award is a sculpture by Steuben Glass. Dr. Salmon, who is legally blind, received the Award for the many innovative programs he has developed and sponsored to increase the independence and self-reliance of blind and deaf-blind people. Banks Pocket Braille Writers, the portable machine that writes directly on to a narrow strip of paper tape, are again available from the Boston Parkway Lions Club, 749 South Street, Roslindale, MA 02131. The cost is $35. Extra rolls of paper tape may also be obtained for $.25 each. The landmark 22-story LaSalle Hotel in Chicago, site of the 1973 ACB national convention, was closed late this past summer. Furnishings which it is estimated would bring some $3.5 million to the owners have been sold at auction. The hotel is to be torn down to make way for an office building. The National Endowment for the Humanities will provide a grant of $535,000, when matched by gifts and funds from private sources, to duplicate a unique national resource, the master tape library of Recording for the Blind, Inc. This project will not only permit RFB to circulate its materials more widely and to meet a rapidly increasing demand, but will assure the preservation of this precious resource in the event of damage to the library collection. The duplicate collection of over 35,000 titles will be stored in a fire-proof vault at Iron Mountain, New York. From WASHINGTON REPORT: New plastic prism lenses that press into ordinary corrective eyeglasses are returning useful vision to some legally blind and low-vision veterans, according to the Veterans Administration. The soft plastic Fresnel lenses are being prescribed for selected veterans by optometrists and ophthalmologists at the V.A.'s three low-vision and blind rehabilitation centers. The prisms help some persons who have restricted visual fields by placing images from the sides, top and bottom into the eye's center field of vision. The images are not always absolutely clear, but are good enough to be helpful to the user. Training by professional staff is a major factor in the successful use of these lenses. The National Braille Association announces establishment of its Reader-Transcriber Registry as an ongoing service to blind readers. The Registry, which has undergone an eighteen-months field test, will continue to accept print materials to be brailled on personal order from readers. Utilizing the services of Library of Congress certified brallists when they are not occupied with local assignments, the Registry will provide readers with items they would find helpful in work, recreation, or daily living. The Registry is not for textbooks, since these are given priority by most transcribing groups, nor for technical materials. For complete details, write NBA Reader-Transcriber Registry, Mrs. Lawrence M. Levine, Chairman, 5300 Hamilton Avenue, No. 1404, Cincinnati, OH 45224. From DIALOGUE WITH THE BLIND: In order to build a bridge between the U.S. Department of Labor and consumers, Mainstream, Inc., a national, non-profit organization formed to help implement the provisions of Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, has established a "hot line" with the slogan, "Call for Compliance." Any individual or group who is aware of an act of non-compliance may call (202) 833-1139. All information will be kept in strict confidence. ---- Steve Hanchu of Detroit, Michigan, was awarded the first prize of $500 for his wood sculpture, "Forest Birth," at the national exhibit of the works of blind artists held this past summer at the Neville Gallery, Philadelphia Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped. From PERFORMANCE: G.K. Hall & Co., publishers of large-print books, has announced the opening of its Large Print Book Club. Members will receive the digest, "Large-Print Review," each month, informing them of new titles available and will receive a discount from the regular price of the books. For information, write G.K. Hall & Co., Lincoln Street, Boston, MA 02111. From WASHINGTON REPORT: With the approval of President Ford of the Educational Broadcasting Facilities and Telecommunications Demonstration Act of 1976, Federal funding is expanded to include the purchase by public broadcasting facilities of radio subcarrier receivers used by blind and physically handicapped individuals who cannot read ordinary printed material to receive special closed-channel broadcasts. The law permits awarding of grants to eligible public broadcasting facilities to cover 75 percent of the cost of purchasing radio subcarrier receivers. ###