The Braille Forum Vol. XVII May, 1979 No. 11 Published Monthly by the American Council of the Blind Mary T. Ballard, Editor President: Oral O. Miller 3701 Connecticut Avenue, N.W. Suite 236 Washington, DC 20008 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 ACB Officers Contributing Editors Notice to Subscribers Report from the ACB President ACB Convention Week Update An Adult Fable: "The Great Generic Takeover," by John P. Best ACB Urged to Change Its Name, by Samuel M. Genensky The Bakke Decision -- Not "Wonderment" But Concern, by Reese Robrahn Supplemental Security Income Legislation Correction Second Call for Title VII Amendment Support Another Step in the Right Direction for Handicapped Federal Employees, by Reese Robrahn BLINDOC -- Information Service on Rehabilitation and Employment of the Visually Handicapped Teaching Braille to Blind Adults with Limited Language Skills, by Jeff Weiss The Employment Bank -- Will It Work? by Trudie Musier Blind Photographer Neither the Devil Nor the Witch, by Billie Elder Action on Health Legislation Is Feared, by Kathy Megivern NPR Presents "The World of F. Scott Fitzgerald" Here and There, by Elizabeth M. Lennon ***** ** ACB Officers * President: Oral O. Miller, 3701 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Suite 236, Washington, DC 20008 * First Vice President: Delbert K. Aman, 115 Fifth Avenue, S.E., Aberdeen, SD 57401 * Second Vice President: Dr. Robert T. McLean, 2139 Joseph Street, New Orleans, LA 70115 * Secretary: M. Helen Vargo, 833 Oakley Street, Topeka, KS 66606 * Treasurer: James R. Olsen, 6211 Sheridan Avenue, S., Minneapolis, MN 55423 ** Contributing Editors George Card, 605 S. Few Street, Madison, WI 53703 Elizabeth Lennon, 1315 Greenwood Avenue, Kalamazoo, MI 49007 Reese H. Robrahn, 7809 Bristow Drive, Annandale, VA 22003 ***** ** Notice to Subscribers The Braille Forum is available in braille, large-type, and two recorded editions -- flexible disc (8 1/3 rpm), which may be kept by the reader, and cassette tape, which must be returned so that tapes can be re-used. As a bimonthly supplement, the flexible disc edition also includes ALL-O-GRAMS, newsletter of the Affiliated Leadership League of and for the Blind of America. Send subscription requests and address changes to The Braille Forum, 190 Lattimore Road, Rochester, NY 14620. Items intended for publication may be sent in print, braille, or tape to Editor Mary T. Ballard at the above address. Those much-needed and appreciated cash contributions may be sent to James R. Olsen, Treasurer, c/o ACB National Office, 1211 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Suite 506, Washington, DC 20036. You may wish to remember someone by sharing in the continuing work of the American Council of the Blind. The National Office now has available special printed cards to acknowledge to loved ones contributions made in memory of deceased persons. Anyone wishing to remember the American Council of the Blind in his or her Last Will and Testament may do so by including in the Will a special paragraph for that purpose. If your wishes are complex, your attorney may wish to contact the ACB National Office. ***** ** Report from the ACB President By the time this report is read, the 1979 ACB national convention will be less than sixty days away, and that means you should have made your travel reservations already. The Convention Week begins on Sunday, July 1, and indications are that all of the special-interest affiliates are planning exceptional programs. Exciting speakers and interesting sessions are brought to my attention every day, and I regret sincerely that I will not have an opportunity to hear every one of them! One very exciting and extremely worthwhile workshop which is being planned for Tuesday, July 3, will concentrate on the training of ACB members as more effective and better informed consumer advocates for the rights of the blind. I am now asking each affiliate to send to the National Office as soon as possible the name and address of its representative to serve on the ACB Task Force on Civil Rights, which was established a few years ago to concentrate on this obviously important subject. We still have the names of the people who served on this Task Force in the past, but we need to know if there have been any changes since the list was compiled originally. Several kinds of background material plus other very important information will be sent to the Task Force participants beforehand so they will have an opportunity to familiarize themselves with the subject before arriving. Pre-registration material for the national convention plus all of the special-interest conferences, workshops, seminars, and all other activities, as well as hotel reservations, will be mailed toward the end of May, 1979. So make your decision NOW as to the maximum number of days you can stay in Grand Rapids. It is a pleasure to report that all of the ACBES notes, referred to in the January, 1979 issue of The Braille Forum, were purchased within a few weeks after they became available. This means that, although we are still in great need of financial assistance for the improvement and expansion of services, the financial condition of the American Council of the Blind is looking much brighter. Recently we received a letter from one of the largest insurance companies in the United States asking about, among other things, the experience of our members in obtaining insurance of all types. We have already provided some of the information requested, but in order to provide more meaningful information and to further document our position for use in future action, we need to learn about difficulties which ACB members and other blind people have had in obtaining or keeping insurance of any type. I would like to hear from anyone (in braille, on tape, or in ink-print) who has ever had any difficulty or who believes he has been discriminated against by an insurance company because of his blindness or impaired vision. The letters, which generally speaking will not be answered, should be as specific as possible. They will be analyzed and counted, after which I will communicate further with the large insurance company mentioned above to test its sincerity regarding its concern for the difficulties encountered by the blind. It is frankly anticipated that the cases reported will substantiate the widespread belief by many blind people that over the years many decisions by insurance companies have been motivated by unsubstantiated and incorrect assumptions rather than by verifiable actuarial data. Again, make your travel reservations now for coming to the ACB national convention in Grand Rapids during the first week of July! Oral O. Miller, President ***** ** ACB Convention Week Update Professor Wilbur Cohen, former Secretary of the Department of Health, Education and Welfare, will be a major featured speaker on Social Security at the American Council of the Blind Convention. Professor Cohen is the national chairman of a new coalition called Save Our Security. Another major speaker on Social Security will be Robert P. Bynum, Deputy Commissioner of the Social Security Administration. E. Richard Alley, Deputy Executive Director of the Committee for Purchase from the Blind and Other Severely Handicapped, will report on the Federal procurement of products and services from workshops, and he will be joined by H. Joseph Brown, a blind workshop employee and union member, Joseph Larkin, President of the General Council of Workshops for the Blind, and James C. MacFarland, Vice President – Government Marketing, National Industries for the Blind. Nancy Bryant, Superintendent of the Michigan School for the Blind, has been invited to participate in a major discussion of the effect of mainstreaming in the education of blind children. Robert R. Humphreys, Commissioner of the Rehabilitation Services Administration, HEW, has been invited to speak on the rehabilitation program. Janiece Petersen, Chairperson of ACB's Committee on Arts, is planning a session which will include exhibits of work by blind artists. Vernon Jordan, Executive Director of the National Urban League, has been asked to address the convention on the role and relationship of handicapped people in the civil rights movement. ACB's twelve national affiliates will hold annual conferences, and seminars on July 1, 2, and 3, just before the Council's general sessions commence on the morning of the 4th. The convention pre-registration mailing should reach you before the end of May. We expect to have another convention sweepstakes offer included with the pre-registration. Last year, one of our members was the lucky winner of a $500 gift certificate. Room rates are excellent: single, $15; double, $18; triple, $27; and quad, $34. Prices on suites can be obtained from the Pantlind Hotel, 187 Monroe Avenue, N.W., Grand Rapids, MI 49502; telephone (616) 459-7201. ***** ** An Adult Fable "The Great Generic Takeover" By John P. Best (Editor's Note: Dr. Best is Executive Director of the Texas Governor Coordinating Office for the Visually Handicapped. He has been active in work for the blind for over twenty years, including such fields as education, rehabilitation, legislation, and advocacy.) I'm going to tell you a "fairy tale" which begins about children -- which could end as a nightmare for the adult handicapped. You be the judge! Once upon a time, in the land of Special Education, various individuals have proposed the notion that if the handicapped could be less isolated from others, they could perhaps adjust better to the normal world and be accepting of and accepted in it. It became fashionable to be highly critical of any residential programs for the handicapped. It became popular to view the public school as the only really good place for a handicapped child to receive his or her education. It was much emphasized that a child could only develop normally if he was integrated with his non-handicapped peers. Thus the myth developed that if a handicapped child attends public school, he will automatically be integrated and thus normalized. Even worse, the myth grew until the common misconception was that education in public school is always better for all handicapped children. Further concern was expressed regarding the potentially damaging effects of labeling handicapped children. The thought was that a label would lead to non-acceptance. Labeling soon became "bad" and another myth was born. Well, it was only a short step to the notion that teachers who were labeled with some sort of specialty title were "bad" or at least the categorical notion gave out an image which was damaging to handicapped children. The fat was in the fire for sure! Possibly some handicaps are invisible to the point where labeling is unnecessarily stigmatizing, but I really doubt it. At any rate, the notion that labeling a blind child as blind is in some way a disservice and places an unnecessary stigma upon him is ridiculous. As a matter of fact, the rest of the labeling notion holds very little water either. Perhaps none at all. The idea of the invisible handicap can only be truly applied to a very few situations, and to most of them for only a short time. Deafness is invisible to the naked eye, but only a few moments around a deaf person and the average person at least knows that there is some sort of problem. Perhaps he doesn't know what the problem is precisely, but at least he is aware of something amiss. As a matter of fact, it probably would be better if he knew what the trouble was so that he would not avoid the person entirely, suspecting some sort of dangerous mental condition. We've all known of classroom situations in which the teacher decided to group the children according to ability, therefore facilitating learning and increasing teacher efficiency. Sometimes the teacher tries to avoid identifying which is the highest ability group -- second, third lowest -- by utilizing names that have no connotation of success level. Instead of calling them Group 1, Group 2, Group 3, etc., or Group A, Group B, Group C, etc., the teacher decided to refer to the groups as Bluebirds, Doves, Swallows, etc. What was the result? The children went home with such tales as, "I'm a Bluebird, but dummy Jack is a Swallow." The children were not fooled for one minute about something so subtle as reading level. So why would we think that labeling is such a serious matter or why would we think we could keep other children from recognizing that some children are handicapped in certain ways? The whole notion that labeling is "evil" is just incredible. What is bad is misdiagnosing. If you want to extrapolate that mislabeling is wrong, so be it, but let's get the blame placed on the correct mistake if blaming is so important. Well, it's not a very large step from what we have just been discussing to the idea that children should not have specific labels by handicapping condition; therefore, teachers should not have titles by handicapping condition; therefore programs should not be labeled categorically; and therefore, we should just go with special educators who are generalists who will work with all handicapped children. By this method we can avoid the stigma of labeling. An entire philosophy of special education grew out of reasoning such as this and the subscription to other myths. All of this was done in the name of helping the handicapped; all of this in the name of educating handicapped children; all of this in the name of improving the human condition. Well, by this time the facts regarding the real needs of the hard core handicapped had been so deeply buried under well-meant mythology that the gasps of the disenfranchised went unheard except by a few professionals and parents. Those "voices in the wilderness" were immediately dismissed as wild-eyed radicals and obstacles to progress. After all, "A great new day was dawning." And so the cries of the early advocates for the hard core handicapped were also drowned out by the tumultuous uproar of the national infatuation with "generics" and the love of the "generalist almighty." And the severely handicapped choked in the dust of reorganization. And the parents despaired, and the advocates lay bruised and bloody. And even the most hardy of the categorical people began to doubt what they knew to be right. The generic takeover had begun. The dictionary defines "generic" as meaning general and not specific. In fact, generic is cited as being the opposite of specific. So, we can clearly see that the generic movement in special education or rehabilitation is not only different from the categorical approach, but also diametrically opposed to it. General education theorists began to get into the special education act. Training institutions began to develop programs for preparing the general special educator. State departments of education began designing and promoting plans, all designed to further the concept of the generic approach to special education. Nowhere was there any shred of evidence that this might be workable -- just blind faith in an idea whose very roots are buried in obfuscation. But it was really rather easy. After all, lots of new positions were created, and one did not have to spend years training and studying in order to qualify for advancement in this method. Individuals certified in anything could qualify for certification in everything simply by embracing the new faith and making application before such a date. The whole business was much applauded by many. After all, they had everything to gain personally and professionally, and nothing to lose. As the movement gained momentum, it became increasingly easy for various disciplines to confer weight on the ideas with which they were being bombarded and to subscribe to them. First thing you know, everyone is crediting everyone else with having endorsed the notions, and thereby legitimizing their own involvement. Meanwhile, some of the theorists who first proposed the notions quietly admitted that they were not so adamant as their self-styled disciples, and, as a matter of fact the whole line of reasoning was beginning to look a bit questionable. Only by now, a lot of time and dollars had been invested and public endorsements had been made. Once one gets on record in this fashion, it is very difficult to back away without admitting that a mistake has been made. So, what happens? You guessed it, an even greater renewed effort along the same lines in order to try to be more convincing. What else? Oh, yes, of course. An all-out attack on those who have attempted to bring the problem to light. Those individuals must be discredited as radicals, and self-seekers; otherwise, someone in a decision-making role may start listening to what they have to say. Besides, the generic protagonists by now have by far the numerical superiority to drown out the categorical voices. There are more of them, and they have a vested interest in protecting the generic system and they are willing to do so, with many of them even honestly believing in their misbegotten cause. Many by now have been sold on the fact that this approach is good for all handicapped persons. Quantity has by far outweighed quality in this debate. Those who know the real needs of the hard-core handicapped are drowned out at nearly every turn. Regardless of motive or intent, it's just the "big lie" being repeated over and over again by those unqualified to even recognize it. The result was that many began to believe. Now, was that really how it was, or is this writing just a fairy tale? If you are so inclined, you can probably rationalize the case in either direction. However, the fact that the generic approach to special education swept across the nation in recent years is a fact that can easily be recognized by anyone who looks. Whether there was a preconceived plot to develop a generic movement or whether it just sort of grew that way through inertia is probably something we will never be able to prove one way or the other for sure. The fact that it did detract enormously from services to the hard core handicapped, however, is an incontrovertible fact. Like so many other things in this world, regardless of whether the intent was sinister or not, the result was still harmful. An accidental gunshot can kill just the same as one fired with murderous intent. The same principle applies to the chances for severely handicapped individuals to have an opportunity to gain the compensatory skills training so critical to their survival. So, the question as to whether the generic "take over" was real or perceived relates to only the manner and not the fact. It did happen for sure, and the whole field of human services will long feel its impact! Now, my question to you, dear friends, is this: Do we have the awareness, the vision, the foresight, and the professional integrity to put a stop to this foolishness as it rears its ugly head in the adult services field? Or will I be writing an "adult fable" a few years hence? We must all strive together, as never before, to give this story a happy ending ***** ** ACB Urged to Change Its Name By Samuel M. Genensky, Ph.D., President of Council of Citizens with Low Vision The Council of Citizens with Low Vision (CCLV) is the newest ACB affiliate. It is indeed a tribute to the American Council of the Blind that it saw the wisdom of establishing an organization for people with useful residual vision. CCLV held its first annual convention last summer in Salt Lake City, where it adopted a constitution and bylaws within the ACB framework. As a consumer advocacy group, we were concerned about the lack of sound programs aimed at the low-vision population of our nation-regardless of whether the vision of these people lies within or outside of the definition of legal blindness. Concern also was expressed over the artificiality and frequent destructiveness of the term "legal blindness" as applied to the partially sighted. There are approximately 1.7 million people in this nation who can be classified as having "low vision." More than 340,000 of them are legally blind and make up over 75 percent of the legally blind population. Thus there are only about 110,000 legally blind people without functionally usable sight. Yet in this country, the overwhelming bulk of services for the visually impaired is tailored for the functionally blind. Our goal is to help redress this unfair imbalance without hurting the functionally blind. We believe that through public relations and public education, administrative decisions, and legislative action new can achieve improvements in rehabilitation and educational services for the partially sighted both within and outside the parameters of legal blindness. With this in mind, we are prepared to submit a resolution for consideration by CCLV and by those attending the ACB national convention in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in July. In essence, the resolution will suggest that the ACB change its name to the "American Council of the Visually Impaired" (ACVI). This would give recognition to the fact that ACB not only represents the 110,000 people who are functionally blind, but it also represents the 1.7 million people who are partially sighted. Another national organization of the blind continues to categorize all visually impaired people as "blind." The organization continues to exclude partially sighted people from its ranks unless they are willing to go along with the inaccurate myth that partially sighted persons face the same problems as those who are functionally blind. By its acceptance and encouragement of CCLV, ACB has demonstrated that it does not accept this myth and in fact recognizes that the visually impaired are a heterogeneous group with diverse needs. If ACB were to change its name to the American Council of the Visually Impaired, I believe that ACB would demonstrate its total acceptance of and commitment to all visually impaired persons, whether they are functionally blind or partially sighted. I also believe that the change in organization name will cause thousands of visually impaired persons who would not consider becoming a member of an organization "of the blind" or "for the blind" to join the ACVI. I therefore hope that ACB will endorse the CCLV resolution when it is presented to it next summer. ***** ** The Bakke Decision -- Not "Wonderment" But Concern By Reese Robrahn In the "Hyde Park Corner" column in the March, 1979 issue of The Braille Forum, Ira Grupper mounted a soapbox to present a different viewpoint on the Bakke case. His Brand X soap produced a lot of foamy suds, but none of the issues were really cleaned up. His reaction to my article on the Bakke case, appearing in the August, 1978 issue of The Braille Forum, results obviously from his erroneous interpretation of some statements in the article. For example, Mr. Grupper states that I am full of "wonderment" that the admissions criterion of handicap was excluded in the Bakke case. My statement in that regard was not in any way intended to convey "wonderment." The purpose of my statement was to convey my great concern and to impart the information that, in all of the 150 pages of the Bakke case decision of our highest court, the Supreme Court of the United States, there was not one word, or phrase, or sentence to indicate any awareness whatsoever by the Court or any of its members that handicapped people have been brought within the protection of the civil rights laws which were involved in the case before it. My concern in this is that the lack of awareness means lack of knowledge and information; a complete absence of any sign of recognition by any member of that Court that our society, through its Federal legislative body, had long since given such recognition of the rights of handicapped citizens by formally establishing those rights through adoption of Federal acts, in addition to the passage of many similar laws in many states. Mr. Grupper labeled himself an "extremist" and labeled Mr. Justice Thurgood Marshall of the Supreme Court, along with others, as "extremists." I am sure that Mr. Justice Marshall would be the last to categorize his decisions as extremist. The point is that whether the label is "racist" or "extremist" as applied to those nine Justices, none, not even Justice Marshall, gave recognition of the civil rights laws as being applicable to handicapped persons. My great concern over this fact grew out of the reality that, sooner or later, a Section 501, 503, 504 case would come before that Court. The Bakke case does represent an attack on affirmative action for all protected groups, including handicapped persons, but it is not a fatal attack. Affirmative action still exists in both the public and private sectors. The United States Department of Labor, the Bakke case notwithstanding, has issued numbers goals and timetables under its Federal contract compliance responsibilities in the employment of all minorities. Not once have I heard from any private industry spokesman or Government official that affirmative action is no longer an obligation under the law. In fact, most discussion of affirmative action falls along the lines of how can we improve our program. My concern over the lack of awareness on the part of our Supreme Court is now brought to focus. The Court has accepted on certiorari a case from the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, commonly referred to as the Davis case. This case involves the issue of the denial by a college in North Carlina of the right of a person with hearing impairment to enter its associate degree in nursing program, on the grounds that a deaf person is not an "otherwise qualified handicapped person," by reason of the hearing impairment. The definition of "qualified handicapped person," appearing in the Section 504 HEW Regulation at S84.3(K)(3), with respect to post-secondary and vocational education services, is: "A handicapped person who meets the academic and technical standards requisite for admission in the recipient's education program or activities." The trial court upheld the action of the college, but the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the trial court on that issue, holding that the defendant college must reconsider admission of the plaintiff, Davis, to determine qualification on the basis of academic and technical requirements. The appeals court also instructed the trial court that it should provide guidelines to the defendant college in its reconsideration with respect to its obligation to provide reasonable accommodation to the plaintiff as a deaf person. The unaware United States Supreme Court will now hear this case, the first under Section 504 to come before it. Another case, commonly referred to as the Tragaser case, has come out of the same Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. It is hoped that the Supreme Court will also take this case on certiorari for hearing. This time, the Fourth Circuit Court ruled adverse to the plaintiff, who is a visually impaired person dismissed from employment at a rehabilitation center by reason of visual impairment. The Court held that Section 504 does not apply to employment except under those situations where the program or activity is designed to provide employment or training for employment of handicapped persons. The Court arrived at this conclusion because of a provision in the 1978 Amendments of the Rehabilitation Act, signed last November 6, conferring all the same rights, remedies, and procedures to handicapped persons under Title V of the Rehabilitation Act as those given to the protected minorities under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Title VI excludes employment, because employment is the subject of Title VII of that Act. This decision is contrary to the intent of Congress, as revealed in the legislative history under Section 504, which shows that, without doubt, Congress intended Section 504 to cover employment; and the purpose of the 1978 Amendment was to assure that it is understood that it is the intent of the Congress that handicapped persons also should have the same rights and remedies available to other minority persons to enforce their civil rights. The American Council of the Blind, together with other organizations of handicapped individuals and advocacy organizations, has joined in amicus briefs in these two cases. We hope to provide the Supreme Court (in addition to our contentions with respect to the legal issues involved) with background information on the civil rights movement of handicapped people, and thus to bring to the nine members of the Court an appropriate level of awareness and sensitivity. The two cases referred to above are direct attacks on the very foundation of civil rights for handicapped people, an attack on Section 504. The front line of the battle for handicapped people is securing and enforcing our civil rights. If we can succeed in this, we will also succeed on the issue of affirmative action. ***** ** Supplemental Security Income Legislation (Editor's Note: The following is revised and excerpted from testimony given by Durward K. McDaniel in April.) We favor increasing the amount of exempt or disregarded earnings of blind SSI beneficiaries under Title XVI. We all know that the present exemption of $780 per year is a serious disincentive for such beneficiaries to engage in such part-time and usually low-paying work as they can obtain. We were encouraged by the provisions of Section 335 of Public Law 95-216, which amended Section 223 of the Social Security Act with respect to exempt earnings of blind beneficiaries under Title II, permitting $4,500 in 1979, $5,000 in 1980, $5,500 in 1981, $6,000 in $1982, and adjusted automatically by increases in earnings levels thereafter. Many blind persons receive benefits concurrently under both titles, which means that the Title II amendment is no practical improvement for them unless the exemption under Title XVI is changed accordingly. In any event, since the number of blind SSI beneficiaries is relatively small, and since it appears that a comparatively small fraction of such present beneficiaries are working, the economic effect of the proposed exemption would not be great. We propose an amendment to Title XVI to permit the same amounts of exempt earned income for blind beneficiaries as now permitted in Title II. In the last Congress, the House passed H. R. 7200, which would have extended SSI coverage to aged, blind, and disabled persons in Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Virgin Islands on a prorated basis. We urge that this Congress extend the benefits of Title XVI on the same basis as for the several States. Under the present law, the following were the average monthly payments in December, 1976: Puerto Rico -- $19.04 for the aged, $13.59 for the blind, and $14.37 for the disabled; Guam -- $70.66 for the aged, $88.37 for the blind, and $74.90 for the disabled; Virgin Islands -- $55.94 for the aged, $56.28 for the blind, and $55.94 for the disabled. In Puerto Rico, for example, in January, 1976, a total of 35,384 aged, blind, and disabled persons received cash assistance at rates such as those stated above. Even though most of the residents of these Territories are citizens of the United States, they face severe discrimination because of this disparate treatment. We know of no better way of stating our position than the words of President Carter to the Governor of Puerto Rico: "The Constitution of the United States does not distinguish between citizens. We do not have in our country first- and second-class citizens." ***** ** Correction Attention has been called to an inadvertent error in the article, "Social Security for Blind People," in the February, 1979 issue of The Braille Forum. Paragraph 3 states that the "fully insured" rule is met if the applicant for benefits has (1) four quarters of coverage ... This should have read forty quarters of coverage. ***** ** Second Call for Title VII Amendment Support As previously reported in The Braille Forum, Senator Harrison Williams, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Human Resources, has introduced S. 446 to amend Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, to bring within its protection handicapped persons in the area of employment. At the present time, handicapped persons in the area of employment are protected under Section 504 in Programs and activities receiving Federal financial assistance, under Section 501 in the Federal Government itself, and under Section 503 in employment by Federal contractors. This amendment will fill the gap in protection by prohibiting discrimination in all areas of employment. The bill is tentatively scheduled for hearing before the Senate committee during the week of May 21. It is necessary for successful consideration and passage of this bill that there be demonstrated strong grassroots support. The bill should have as many sponsors as possible. Sponsors can sign on to the measure any time prior to its going to the floor of the Senate for debate and vote. You are urged, therefore, to contact your Senators for sponsoring support by calling your Senators' national offices or their local offices, by writing letters, by sending telegrams. Seek formal support of the bill by your organization through resolution and transmittal of the same to your members of Congress. Seek the same kind of support from your civic clubs and organizations, your church organizations, your community leaders. The American Council of the Blind is not alone in this push to bring about passage of this sorely needed civil rights protection for handicapped people. All national organizations are cooperating. ACB calls for exceptional effort. ***** ** Another Step in the Right Direction for Handicapped Federal Employees By Reese Robrahn For several years now, it has been possible for handicapped persons to enter Federal employment on a non-competitive basis; that is, Federal departments and agencies have been authorized to waive the requirements of competitive testing for handicapped applicants for employment in order to acquire eligibility for the Civil Service registry. This is commonly referred to as Schedule A noncompetitive service. It is estimated that at least 75% of all handicapped Federal employees are Schedule A employees. This rule has provided the means for many handicapped persons to enter Federal employment service. However, it must be understood that those who enter under the system are not Federal Civil Service career employees and, therefore, they do not receive all rights and benefits of career service, such as retirement benefits and preferences in advancement and job placement over those entering the Federal service. Thus, many highly trained, competent, highly producing handicapped Federal employees have not been considered for advancement, while other non-handicapped career employees, not as qualified and not as proficient, are awarded the promotions. For over a year, the ad hoc Task Force on Employment of Handicapped Persons in the Federal Government has proposed, urged, and pressured the Civil Service Commission to take action to change that rule so that a degree of equity can be achieved. This ad hoc Task Force is the one which brought about the adoption by the Civil Service Commission of its non-discrimination in the employment of handicapped persons rule and complaint procedure for handicapped applicants and employees. Reese Robrahn, representing the American Council of the Blind, and Debby Kaplan, representing the Disability Rights Center, have served as co-chairpersons of this Task Force. Finally, efforts show signs of results. On March 20, 1979, Executive Order 12125 was published in the Federal Register. This modifies the existing rule so that severely handicapped employees, including mentally retarded employees, may be transferred after two years from non-competitive service into career service, upon the recommendation of the employer department or agency and pursuant to regulations to be promulgated by the Office of Personnel Management, United States Civil Service Commission. This order by no means meets the proposals of the Task Force. The real test of success or failure will come when final regulations are adopted. ACB will monitor constantly the development of these regulations. ***** ** BLINDOC -- Information Service on Rehabilitation and Employment of the Visually Handicapped There are an estimated 17 million blind persons in the world, and many times that number with severe visual handicaps. All of them urgently need assistance in finding work and a way of earning a living. Helping them to do so has been part of the International Labor Office's Human Resources Development and Training Program for many years. Early in 1974, the International Labor Office (ILO), in collaboration with the World Council for the Welfare of the Blind, launched a new information service, identified as BLINDOC. Its focus is on vocational rehabilitation of the blind and partially sighted. Its principal objective is to collect information on new approaches of integrating the visually handicapped into active life and to report on these efforts and techniques to interested agencies, organizations, and rehabilitation specialists around the world. Up to the summer of 1978, some 250 such reports had been issued. The distribution list for BLINDOC dispatches has been growing rapidly. The reports are based on data in the growing volume of publications and periodicals on matters relating to blindness, as well as documentation on technical cooperation projects in developing countries, expert missions, seminars, training courses, and so on. The World Council for the Welfare of the Blind and its member organizations in various countries have been helpful in securing additional materials. BLINDOC information is intended primarily to be a help to field workers and practitioners in blind rehabilitation. The documentation in the form of abstracts extends to a broad range of activities -- from assessment and guidance counseling, to job training, placement, organization of workshops, adaptation of jobs, application of technical aids and assistive devices, etc. Moreover, BLINDOC seeks to gather and present relevant information on new legislative actions, administrative provisions, supportive social and psychological rehabilitation services, and innovative practices by employers and workers organizations, producers, cooperatives of the visually handicapped, etc. The service is also effective in facilitating an exchange of experiences among BLINDOC users. BLINDOC texts are in English, French, or Spanish. The principal abstracting language is English. When possible in terms of available resources, abstracts have been translated into French and Spanish. Contacts have been established with other documentation centers that collect rehabilitation literature, to build up collaboration in data exchange, in the development of common indexing terms, and, in the long run, to improve the capabilities of response to individual information requests and of effective documentation research. The ILO's BLINDOC is an example of close collaboration among international, governmental, and voluntary organizations in the rehabilitation field, seeking to promote more active service to blind and visually handicapped persons everywhere. For further information on BLINDOC services, contact International Labor Office, Visual Rehabilitation Section, CH-1211, Geneva 22, Switzerland. ***** ** Teaching Braille to Blind Adults with Limited Language Skills By Jeff Weiss Mr. Weiss is a braille instructor at the Arkansas Enterprises for the Blind Rehabilitation Center. * Introduction There are several good manuals of instruction available for teaching braille to blind adults. These manuals offer a variety of different approaches for teaching reading to blind adults; however, there is one area which has been overlooked. Many adults with limited language skills are soon frustrated by the manuals of instruction which are used to introduce them to the basic braille symbols which they will need for self-communication. Often they are presented with reading exercises which use vocabulary far above their educational and intellectual functioning level. Difficulty identifying individual letters and locating the next line can quickly compound this frustration. The adult with poor language skills who may have already experienced hardship through the formal education system will soon give up on using braille. Instead of making life easier, braille becomes one more arduous task to be avoided. In the programmed instruction used at Arkansas Enterprises for the Blind Rehabilitation Center these problems were minimized by creating a special program for adults with language deficiencies. This program will be described below. * Reading Readiness A reading readiness program evaluates and teaches the skills needed for reading braille. The materials used at A.E.B. are entitled Braille Readiness Exercises, by Billie Elder. The first component of these exercises consists of lines of braille in varying patterns. This is used to introduce the new braille reader to the proper method of horizontal reading motion, using the two-hand reading position. Although many readers vary as to whether they continue reading with two hands, the advantages of using both hands are stressed throughout early reading instruction. In this phase of readiness, the client is encouraged to move rapidly across the lines. The second part of this readiness program teaches and evaluates the ability to discriminate between similar and dissimilar tactile patterns. Fifty small plastic cards are used. These cards contain guidelines and two dot configurations. The client must determine if the two patterns are the same or different. This section of the readiness program will usually indicate if the client will have difficulty reading braille by touch. The last section of this readiness program consists of a series of cards which are used to introduce several braille letters and a number of words using these letters. This gives the instructor information about the client's ability to learn and about his literacy. It can be determined whether the instructional manual in common use will be adequate to meet the needs of each individual client. If the client evidences the ability to learn but is unable to recognize (spell) short simple words, a special program using only basic vocabulary is needed. * Format of the Reading Exercises The vocabulary for this primer consists largely of words from the Dolch Sight Vocabulary List with a few additions. The reading matter is double spaced both between lines and within each line, through the presentation of the alphabet. In these alphabetic exercises guidelines like those in the readiness program are used. The combination of the double spacing within lines and the guidelines allows the new reader to develop a pattern of rapid horizontal motion. After the presentation of the alphabet, normal spacing within lines is initiated with the introduction of the braille numbering system. This allows the number sign to appear in its normal position, contiguous to the digits of the number. Guidelines are retained between whole numbers. Only basic punctuation and composition signs are introduced such as apostrophe, capital, period, question mark, comma, and hyphen. Through the punctuation exercises the guidelines are used before each sentence, only once per line, and then they are phased out completely. * Additional Reading Practice By this time the client should be ready for additional reading exercises which still maintain double spacing between lines. At Arkansas Enterprises for the Blind we use the Adult Reader by M.S. Robertson. A portion of this Adult Reader has been transcribed into uncontracted braille and has a small sheet of paper containing a word list at the beginning of each new lesson. The first eleven lessons are double-spaced between lines and the remaining lessons are written on every line. * Writing Braille Although strategies of braille instructors differ, the usual procedure at A.E.B. is to begin the adult client writing with the slate and stylus. If, as clients sometimes do, the client interrupts his training after a short period, he would have a method of writing which he could continue to develop. If the Perkins Brailler were introduced first, the client who leaves training after a short time might not have any method of writing braille and might lose interest in using braille. With some clients· having limited language skills learning to write braille presents a totally different problem. If a client tends to reverse the configuration of letters when reading, introducing the brailler first may be the only way for the learning process to progress. Using the brailler reinforces the learning of the letters studied. A client with a very poor memory might also benefit from the learning reinforcement provided by beginning writing instruction with the brailler. For individuals who need to begin writing with the brailler there are also other means of reinforcing the learning of braille. * Successful Uses This program has proven to be helpful in teaching braille for self-communication to blind adults with added handicapping conditions. These handicapping conditions include cultural deprivation, educational deprivation, mental retardation and brain damage. Modifications of this program have also been used with foreign clients who could progress through this program rapidly. The nature of the vocabulary helped to improve their conversational and written English enough to allow them to progress to other materials. ***** ** The Employment Bank -- Will It Work? By Trudie Musier (Trudie Musier is Immediate Past President of the Visually Impaired Secretarial Transcribers Association.) Among the many innovative ideas tried by the Visually Impaired Secretarial Transcribers Association (VISTA) is the Employment Bank. Some VISTA members are performing duties in their work seemingly impossible for a blind person. We feel that this information should be available to those who are seeking employment, to those who are employed and wish to upgrade their skills, and to individuals working in personnel who have hiring responsibilities. VISTA prepared and mailed a questionnaire to its active membership. Along with pertinent questions concerning their jobs, we asked those responding for permission to use the information when it is requested. There are times when the inquiry can be handled by the individual performing the duties of interest to the inquirer. To date, 42 persons are registered in the Employment Bank. We are at present mailing out a questionnaire to those active members who did not return a completed form last year. We hope that by next year the full membership will be registered. VISTA's Employment Bank is maintained in braille and in print. When I participated several years ago in a rehabilitation conference, "The Decade of the '70s," I suggested that a national employment bank be set up on a computer. There are large corporations who must employ blind persons. A national employment bank would enable them to easily determine our capabilities. When only 25 VISTA members were registered, a large corporation asked for information on the various companies for whom secretaries and transcribers were working. They also asked about the kinds of duties performed by these secretaries and transcribers. VISTA has turned a dream into reality. Before too much time passes, we are certain that its full membership will be registered. Will an employment bank work? WHY NOT? ***** ** Blind Photographer A Picture is worth more than words describe. (Reprinted from UPI -- Washington -- By Mike Feinsilber) George Covington loves to tell about the first time he took a picture of himself and studied it carefully, discovering what he looks like. "I expected to see a young Robert Redford," he says. "Instead, I saw a young Groucho Marx." Covington is almost blind. If he holds something up to his nose and looks at it through a magnifying glass, he can see it. The rest of the world is a blur. Almost blind, but a photographer nonetheless. And a teacher of photography. He teaches the visually impaired to see a world they could not otherwise see, and one he could not see until he learned to photograph it. He explains: A photograph makes time stand still. He can hold a picture and study it. A face he cannot see across a table becomes an image the size of a thumbnail which he can see. An action that escapes his eye need not escape his camera. He always wears a tiny camera -- a Rollei 35B -- around his neck "like a crucifix." "People's first reaction is, 'It can't be done,'" he says, when he tells them what he is up to. "Then their reaction is 'Why hasn't this been done before?'" Covington, 34, born on the Arkansas side of the border town of Texarkana, Texas, worked his way through the University of Texas at Austin, earning degrees in journalism and law. He taught journalism at West Virginia University and tried practicing law in Texas, but didn't like it. Now he is working as a consultant to the Association of Flight Attendants, writing and photographing a slide presentation on how airline stewardesses can best help blind passengers. He is also teaching a free course on photography for the visually impaired at the National Park Service's Glen Echo Park in suburban Maryland, and that's closer to his life's ambition. He wants to become a professional photography teacher so he can teach what he has learned to people who work with the visually impaired. Next spring Addison House is to publish a book of his photographs, tentatively titled "Faces I've Seen." It is a collection of portraits of friends, usually not posing, caught in action, photographed so that Covington could see what they looked like. He focuses by estimating the distance to his subject. This method of "scale focusing" and a semi-wide-angle lens give enough depth of field to produce sharply focused pictures. Depth of field is the distance in front of and behind the subject that is rendered sharply. Photo houses often employ the blind to work in their darkrooms since the darkness poses no extra obstacle. Covington does his own darkroom work. He has developed techniques for bringing the most out of his negatives. "In photography, they're always teaching you there's only one way to do something, but there isn't. There are dozens of ways," he says. "The medium is incredibly forgiving. It's not necessary to build up this mystique." A girlfriend awoke his interest eight years ago. He started carrying her equipment while she took landscape photos. When he looked at the results, he writes in his book, "I suddenly realized there was a great deal in those little pictures I had not seen at the time of the shooting. In some cases I did not even recognize the scene I had looked at for half an hour." He was born with 20-400 vision in both eyes. Over the last nine years, retina degeneration took most of what little vision he had. He sees with less than 10% normal vision on the edge of his right eye. But, he says, "As long as I can see to photograph, I'll never be blind." ***** ** Neither the Devil Nor the Witch By Billie Elder Too long, consumers have had to choose between the devil, or poor and inadequate services, and the witch, lack of services. There is no future in this process. In too many places, inadequate services of poor quality are all that available to the visually impaired person. The sad truth is that these sparse, inadequate services are often grudgingly offered by unqualified and sometimes disinterested staff. This deplorable condition does not exist everywhere. There are some bright spots where the providers of services and consumers of services cooperate to upgrade quality and to initiate new and innovative service programs. What makes the difference? Those who must constantly choose between the devil and the witch -- that is, poor, inadequate services, unprofessionally delivered, in an attitude of "Take it or leave it, buddy, that's all you're gonna get" -- often choose to leave it. Telephone calls and visits to the rehabilitation office or the agency office avail nothing. The Federal law which states that consumers of services shall be involved in their own rehabilitation program might as well have been written in water in some instances. The governmental bureaucracies and the smaller private bureaucracies frequently bumble along, crushing the hopes and dreams of the visually impaired whom they are designed to serve. Such bureaucracies are the bad guys in black hats. We know there are good guys in white hats, and for them we are grateful. But how can we change a black hat into a white hat? That, dear consumer, is the all-consuming question. "The difference, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves that we are underlings," wrote Shakespeare. The difference between "white hat" agencies and "black hat" agencies is due to the quality and quantity of the participation of consumers in these agencies. Learning to be an effective consumer and learning to trust and work with others is an enormous undertaking. A modern savant has said: "No one can get an education for you. No one can take a bath for you. No one can die for you." And we must add: No one can become an effective consumer for you. This is a job you must do for yourself. Help will be provided for those CRS members who are workers in the blindness delivery system, as well as consumers of services, at the annual meeting of the Council of Rehabilitation Specialists to be held in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on July 2 and 3, 1979, prior to the national convention of the American Council of the Blind. The theme of the CRS conference for 1979 is "Model-Building for Effective Consumer Participation in the Blindness Delivery System." Do not spend the first week of July sweating under your gourd vine, throwing rocks and wailing and gnashing your teeth about the unresponsiveness of agencies which purport to serve blind people. Start planning and start sacrificing a little, if necessary, in order to get to Grand Rapids for that week. Let's meet and mingle with other consumers, learn from knowledgeable leaders, and get involved with a dynamic forward-looking group which is dedicated to the cause of improving the quality of services for the visually handicapped. (For full information concerning the Council of Rehabilitation Specialists, contact Mrs. Billie Elder, 5317 W. 29th Street, Little Rock, Arkansas 72204.) ***** ** Action on Health Legislation Is Feared By Kathy Megivern For the first time in the long history of the fight for national health insurance legislation, there is a strong possibility that Congress will enact a bill this session. However, the legislation being most seriously considered is not any sort of a comprehensive health coverage plan, but, rather, a bare-bones "catastrophic" proposal which would, indeed, be a catastrophe to the cause of national health insurance. This was the solemn warning from Bert Seidman, Director, Social Security Department, AFL/CIO, in his speech to the members of the Washington Health Security Act on Coalition at their April luncheon. Mr. Seidman pointed out that in years past, there has been a health insurance proposal put forth by just about every group with any interest in the issue. In each session of Congress, there would be an American Medical Association bill, an American Hospital Association bill, a proposal from the private insurance industry, and others. Proponents of these bills never gave serious consideration to the possibility of passage, but rather, offered these proposals just as tactical roadblocks to splinter support and prevent any action at all. But this year there is no AMA bill, no AHA bill, no insurance industry bill. The one bill which has been re-introduced and is considered even more significant because of the absence of these other proposals is Senator Long's plan, S. 351, Catastrophic Health Insurance Coverage. It is clear that this time Senator Long is serious about this legislation and determined to get quick action. In addition, Republican members of the Senate are discussing the possibility of compromise catastrophic legislation. As was reported in the April issue of The Braille Forum, S. 351 is intended to help the victims of catastrophic illness by providing coverage once costs have reached a certain level. Unfortunately, those cost levels are so outrageously high that the legislation will be of little assistance to low- and moderate-income persons. The individual would have to pay the first $2,000 in medical costs. (Senator Long has stated that this deductible could be increased to $3,000 or even $4,000 before the bill is enacted.) Likewise, a person would have to pay for the first sixty days of hospitalization before the catastrophic insurance program would take over. But isn't coverage of some sort better than nothing at all? That question is heard frequently and was asked of Mr. Seidman. His answer was a resounding "No!" For reasons which have been discussed previously (see the April Braille Forum), Senator Long's catastrophic bill would do nothing but harm to the health care system as it now exists and to the hopes of passing a truly comprehensive bill. The Washington Health Security Action Coalition, of which the American Council of the Blind is a member, is urging its members to let their representatives know of their opposition to passage of any catastrophic legislation. ***** ** NPR Presents "The World of F. Scott Fitzgerald" As it expands its efforts at program services to the handicapped, National Public Radio is anxious to reach new audience members who might particularly benefit from and enjoy its programming. To this end, NPR is pleased to announce its upcoming series in the humanities entitled, "The World of F. Scott Fitzgerald" -- eight hour-long programs on the life and writings of the American author, F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896-1940) on the evenings of June 3-10. Each program in this ambitious radio project is presented in two parts: a literary documentary which introduces the listener to relevant biographical, historical, and literary information; and a radio dramatization of one of his short stories, prepared by the National Radio Theater of Chicago. The documentaries combine excerpts from Fitzgerald's diaries, stories and letters, period music, interviews with his contemporaries, historical recordings and broadcasts from the 1920s and '30s, excerpts from other writers of the period, and narration. They focus on Fitzgerald's life and times, while highlighting themes presented in the accompanying drama. National Public Radio is producing the series under a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. ***** ** Here and There By Elizabeth M. Lennon The North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, New York, has been awarded a three-year grant from the Bureau of Health Manpower for its program titled, "Allied Health Training for Visually Impaired Students." This program seeks to demonstrate the feasibility of providing technician-level training in a hospital to visually impaired persons for employment in nuclear medicine technology and clinical laboratory technology. Collaboration between the hospital and two two-year colleges has been formalized by affiliation agreement for the purpose of conducting this project. Project students who successfully complete the program will receive an associate's degree from either Manhattan College (nuclear medicine technology) or Queensboro Community College (clinical laboratory technology). Job placement assistance and a full range of support services are available. For detailed information, direct inquiries to Howard Mordin, Project Coordinator, Vocational Rehabilitation Center, North Shore University Hospital, Manhasset, New York 11030; telephone (516) 562-3040. "A Handbook on Tactual Signs and Location Cues for the Blind and Visually Impaired" is now available from Dialogue with the Blind, 3100 Oak Park Avenue, Berwyn, IL 60402. The book deals with requirements under Title V of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, requiring that all public buildings be made accessible to the handicapped. This includes informational signs that can be read by blind and visually impaired persons. If you know of a public building or a private building used by the public that is not so marked, send for one of these booklets and present it to the administrator. This law does not give building managers the option to comply, but legally requires them to comply. From Update (National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped): The earphones used with talking-book machines have been re­designed, and 20,000 of the new units are now being manufactured. The headphones are of lightweight construction for greater comfort and feature individual controls for each earpiece. Units accommodate specially labeled auxiliary amplifiers for hearing impaired persons. Dr. Samuel Genensky, Director, Center for the Partially Sighted, Santa Monica Hospital, Santa Monica, California, has been appointed as a member of the Implementation Advisory Council of the White House Conference on Randi capped Individuals. The Council will develop a framework for action needed to implement the recommendations of the White House Conference. Dr. Genensky is president of one of ACB's newest special-interest affiliates, the Council of Citizens with Low Vision. A special package of informational materials on ham radio (in ink print only) is available free from the American Radio Relay League, 225 Main Street, Newington, CT 06111. The packet contains information on licensing, equipment, getting started, etc. The Consumer Products Safety Commission's toll-free telephone number for registering complaints or requesting information on consumer products has been changed. For the continental United States, the number is (800) 638-8326, except in Maryland, where the number is (800) 492-8363. The number for Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands remains the same: (800) 638-8333. The Matilda Ziegler Magazine reports on a new resource for visually impaired job-seekers, Just-One-Break, Inc., 373 Park Avenue, S., New York, NY 10016. JOB, which has traditionally specialized in vocational services for the physically handicapped, is now using a three-year grant from the Seeing Eye, Inc., to conduct an intensive program of placement for the visually impaired. In its first year, JOB placed 173 persons, 142 blind and 31 visually impaired. Full-time professional, industrial, and clerical positions in competitive industry were secured by 46 persons in the group. From NLS News (National Library Service): Access National Parks, a Guide for Handicapped Visitors, the first voice indexed cassette book produced by NLS, should be available to readers in time to help plan summer activities. It covers services, facilities, and programs at national parks and describes features that make them accessible to handicapped persons. Voice-indexing is a technique that uses key words -- in this case, the names of the parks -- to help readers locate specific information. Index words are audible when the cassette is played in Fast Forward mode. When the desired park is located, the reader stops the tape and resumes play at regular speed to hear the full entry under that heading. Dog guides, the "eyes of the blind," have long been a familiar sight. Now researchers believe that small capuchin monkeys can make life easier for the handicapped, reports Medical World News. The monkeys, which are best known for helping organ grinders collect handouts, are being trained in a Tufts-New England Medical Center project headed by para-psychologist Mary Joan Willard. The monkeys perform simple tasks for the handicapped, such as turning lights on and off, picking up objects, and pushing doorbells. Taught to work both indoors and out, the monkeys can be placed with a patient at the age of three and have a life expectancy of 20 years. Hundreds of pedestrian overpasses and underpasses built with Federal funds will have to be made accessible to handicapped persons, following an agreement between the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board (A&TBCB) and the Department of Transportation's Federal Highway Administration. The agreement concludes a case involving a pedestrian overpass in Omaha, Nebraska, built by the State with Federal funds totaling $90,000. The A&TBCB claimed the 13% grade of the overpass ramp made it unusable for persons in wheelchairs and those who have difficulty walking. In order to provide information to transportation planners at all levels as well as for its own use in writing final regulations for Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the U.S. Department of Transportation recently released a new study on the composition, behavior, and needs of transportation­handicapped persons. Most surprising of the study's findings was the estimated number of transportation-handicapped persons, 7.4 million, compared with earlier estimates of near 13 million, and the fact that only 1 % of the unemployed handicapped aged 16 to 65 who were surveyed gave transportation as a reason for not working. Improved transportation systems, however, were found to enhance the underlying desire to work. The National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, Library of Congress, is now lending free recorded summaries of all legislation introduced in Congress aimed at aiding handicapped individuals. For more information, write National Library Service, Library of Congress, Washington, DC 20542. Do any of you know where Ronson CAN DO electric can openers can be obtained? No longer in production because of lack of sales, this particular appliance can be deftly used by disabled individuals having the use of only one hand. Anyone who knows where these can openers can be obtained is asked to call or write State Office of Coordination of Services to the Handicapped, Old Armory Building, 11 Bladen Boulevard, Annapolis, MD 21401. ACB of New York State suffered a great loss in the death of its president, Ruth Williams of Albany on March 21, after a long illness. She graduated with a liberal arts degree from Syracuse University in 1931 and worked as a rehabilitation teacher for the New York State Commission for the Blind and Visually Handicapped from 1936 until her retirement in 1974. At the time of her death, Ruth was a member of the Board of Directors of the New York Association of Workers for the Blind. Other organizations in which she played an active part were the National Braille Association and the Alumni Association New York State School for the Blind at Batavia. Ellen Logue, 44, who has been blind since birth, was eating lunch alone in her Brooklyn home when her dog guide, Star, began barking. Soon the dog was nipping her and nudging her toward the front door. Minutes later, as she stood on the front sidewalk, the home where she, her blind husband and two blind sons lived, burst into flame. The fire destroyed most of the home. Dennis R. Wyant has been nominated by President Carter as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor for Veterans Employment Services in the Employment and Training Administration. Wyant, 35, has been serving as a special assistant in the Veterans Administration. Blinded in the Vietnam war, he has been active in veterans affairs since coming to Washington in 1973 as National Field Director of the Blinded Veterans Association. From The Missouri Chronicle: Myrtle Garris, a member of the North Carolina Council of the Blind, was recently named Handicapped Person of the Year by the Raleigh Mayor's Committee for Services to the Handicapped. Ms. Garris, who has been blind since birth, is an employee of the Division of Services for the Blind in North Carolina and is president of the North Carolina chapter of the American Association of Workers for the Blind. She is also a member of the Governor's Council on Aging and of the President's Committee on Employment of the Handicapped. -- Donald Clarkson, a member of the Executive Committee of the Missouri Federation of the Blind and president of its Hannibal chapter, passed away recently at Columbia. He had often represented MFB's interests during legislative sessions. ###