The Braille Forum Vol. XXVII January/February 1990 No. 4 Published by The American Council of the Blind ***** Promoting Independence and Effective Participation in Society National Office: Oral O. Miller, J.D. 1010 Vermont Ave. N.W. Suite 1100 Washington, DC 20005 (202) 393-3666 The Braille Forum is available in braille, large-type, and cassette tape (15/16 ips). Subscription requests, address changes, and items intended for publication should be sent to: Nolan Crabb, The Braille Forum, 1010 Vermont Ave. N.W., Suite 1100, Washington, DC 20005. Those much-needed and appreciated cash contributions, which are tax-deductible, may be sent to Brian Charlson, Treasurer, 1010 Vermont Ave. N.W., Suite 1100, Washington, DC 20005. You may wish to remember a relative or friend by sharing in the continuing work of the American Council of the Blind. The ACB National Office has available 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/her Last Will and Testament may do so by including a special paragraph for that purpose. If your wishes are complex, you may contact the ACB National Office. For the latest in legislative and governmental news, call the "Washington Connection" at (202) 393-3664 Eastern time, 24 hours a day; or toll-free, (800) 424-8666, 8 p.m. to 11 p.m., Monday through Friday. Copyright 1990 American Council of the Blind ***** ** Contents President’s Message, by LeRoy Saunders Notice Concerning Applications for and Renewals of ACB Memberships-at-Large New Editor for the Braille Forum, by Christopher Gray News Briefs from the ACB National Office, by Oral O. Miller Future ACB Convention Sites Chosen The President’s Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities – 1990 Annual Meeting Legislative Agenda for 1990 – and Beyond, by Kathleen Megivern ACB Job Connection – A Service with a New Feature, by Ninetta Garner Mile High City Awaits ACB, by Robert J. Acosta Let’s Commit a Little Public Scrutiny, by Mary Jane Owen Blind American Slips Past KGB through Glasnost Door, by Oral O. Miller Where Are They Now?, by Stephanie Cooper Report Shows Strong Support by Blind and Low-Vision Adults for New Telephone-based Services, by Frank Bowe Descriptive Video Services — Making TV Accessible for Visually Impaired Audiences AFB Accepting Applications for Low Interest Loans to Help Visually Impaired People Purchase Portable Reading Machine Changes in Social Security, Supplemental Security Income and Social Security Disability Insurance Benefits — Effective 1990 High Tech Swap Shop Here and There, by Elizabeth Lennon ACB Officers ***** ** President’s Message By LeRoy Saunders I am pleased to announce that ACB has a new editor for its national magazine, The Braille Forum. After months of search and many interviews, the Board of Publications recommended Nolan Crabb from St. George, Utah to fill the editor’s position. At our recent ACB Board of Directors meeting in Denver, Colorado, I presented this recommendation to the Board for confirmation. He was confirmed and we look forward to February 12th which will be his first day “on the job” with ACB. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the many qualified people who applied for this position. As a member of the Search Committee I can report to you how impressed we were with the caliber of the applications — a fact that made the work of the Search Committee and the Board of Publications all the more difficult. Traditionally, the Board of Directors approves the budget for the upcoming year at its January meeting. The budgeting process this year was facilitated by the stringent financial measures ACB has exercised in recent years. I am happy to report that in 1989 ACB continued to retire indebtedness at the targeted level. The budget adopted for 1990 is conservative but allows for a slight pay increase for staff as well as continued debt retirement. Despite the fact that we have seen some improvement in thrift store income, we will move very cautiously in making plans for the future because the thrift stores are vulnerable, as are all retail businesses, to surprising fluctuations throughout a year. So although it is hoped that our income will be greater than budgeted the Board will wait until July to amend the budget to reflect any additional income. It’s not too soon to be making plans for the upcoming 29th ACB national convention to be held in Denver, Colorado in July. The Board of Directors has approved a Program Committee recommendation to move the opening convention session to Sunday evening. This festive opening session, to begin at 8:00 p.m., will include the roll call of affiliated organizations, identification of delegates, charter presentations, and a welcoming address. It is hoped that by “kicking off” the convention on Sunday we will have more time for convention business and avoid running past noon on Saturday. I’d like to mention that we also plan to have a special meeting of all state and special interest affiliated group presidents. Watch for the time and place of this important meeting. Many people are working to make this the best ACB convention ever. You can expect to hear from outstanding speakers, have a wide choice of tours, and participate in numerous workshops and seminars. There will be something of interest for everyone so … y’all come! (Look for more specific information in the convention article appearing in this issue.) At the recent Board of Directors meeting concern was expressed about possible deviations from Robert’s Rules of Parliamentary Procedure at recent ACB conventions. To insure that we adhere to those rules, I am asking any certified parliamentarians to identify themselves to me so that we can take the proper steps to avoid any further trends in that direction. Again, I would like to thank Roberta Douglas, Chris Gray, the Board of Publications and all others who have helped publish The Braille Forum during the absence of an editor. Roberta assumed the responsibility for putting the final copy together and coordinated its final production in braille, large print and cassette. I am sure all of you join with me in acknowledging a job well done by all involved. ***** ** Notice Concerning Applications for and Renewals of ACB Memberships-at-Large The American Council of the Blind Constitution and By-Laws provide that any person who has reached the age of 18 and who is not a voting member of an ACB state/regional affiliate is eligible to become an ACB member-at-large, with the right to an individual vote at the ACB national convention. Annual membership-at-large dues are $5.00. Application forms for new members-at-large are available from the ACB national office. The ACB Constitution and By-Laws further provide that all dues are to be received no later than ninety days prior to the ACB national convention; that is, in 1990, no later than Monday, April 2. All membership-at-large dues must be clearly identified as such and should be sent so as to be received no later than April 2, 1990, to: American Council of the Blind, Brian Charlson, Treasurer, 1010 Vermont Ave. N.W., Suite 1100, Washington, DC 20005. ***** ** New Editor for The Braille Forum By Christopher Gray Please join me and the ACB Board of Publications in welcoming the new editor of the Braille Forum: Nolan Crabb. You may recognize the name Nolan Crabb as he was the editor of Dialogue Magazine from September, 1983 until June, 1986. Nolan brings to ACB experience from reporting and writing for two newspapers, The Deseret News, Salt Lake City, UT, and the Ogden Standard-Examiner, Ogden, UT, as well as experience gained while serving as executive director and editor of Dialogue Publications, Inc. in Berwyn, IL. In addition, he researched and produced a weekly lumber industry newsletter. He is no stranger to the world of computers and is familiar with five electronic editing systems used in newspaper and magazine production. He has experience in producing braille, large print and recorded publications. There are two things that ACB members can do to help us make the transition from one editor to another. First if you have something to say in an article or some facts that need to be shared in a Braille Forum article, please contact Nolan or any member of the Board of Publications. Secondly, I would ask state and special interest affiliate presidents and newsletter editors to place Nolan Crabb’s name on your mailing list. He can be reached at the ACB national office in Washington as of February 12. It would be very helpful if you would send copies of your newsletter to his attention in any medium in which it is produced. ***** ** News Briefs from the ACB National Office By Oral O. Miller National Representative During the last few weeks of the first session of the 101st Congress much time was necessarily devoted to monitoring the progress of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) as Congress rushed toward adjournment by Thanksgiving. The House Education and Labor Committee was the only one of the four House Committees considering the bill to approve it by the time of adjournment. Accordingly, shortly after adjournment the American Council of the Blind kicked off its participation in the National post card campaign to let members of the House know the importance of passing the ADA without crippling amendments. To that end we distributed through our state and regional affiliates several thousand post cards with the request that they be distributed to members throughout the country so every member of the House of Representatives would receive several cards urging adoption. Many other national consumer organizations also took part in this campaign which resulted in several hundred thousand cards being mailed. Now that Congress is back in session, it remains essential to tell members of the House how important it is to adopt the ADA without crippling amendments and for that reason anyone interested in being responsible for sending at least five cards may obtain a packet containing cards and instructions by contacting the ACB National Office. It is not necessary for the cards to come from disabled people only; it is important for Congress to hear from ALL citizens who are interested in passage of the ADA. We commend the Penn/Del Chapter of the Association for the Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired for including on its 1989 chapter convention program a substantial segment on the importance of consumerism in the planning and delivery of services to blind people. It was my pleasure to speak on this subject in behalf of the American Council of the Blind at the regional convention held in picturesque Lancaster, PA. The convention banquet honored the late Dr. Mae Davidow, immediate past president of the Pennsylvania Council of the Blind, for her years of dedicated and tireless service to blind people. Opportunities for advocacy do not arise exclusively in the halls of Congress and the Federal executive agencies! Sometimes they walk through our door to meet us. That was the case in late November when a consultant working for the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) sought our input concerning a proposal by the Department. It so happened that we had just concluded communicating at length with HUD officials regarding incorrect practices being followed by many public housing facility managers in ruling that otherwise eligible blind people were not eligible for such housing. The managers in question were asserting improperly that the only disabled people eligible for public housing on the basis of disability were mobility impaired people. The consultant took a much larger message back to HUD than he had expected to take. It was my pleasure recently to represent the American Council of the Blind at the meeting of the North America/Caribbean Region of the World Blind Union (WBU), held at the national office of the National Federation of the Blind in Baltimore. Much of the time at the two-day-long meeting was devoted to hearing important committee reports, reviewing and deciding on proposed amendments to the WBU constitution and discussing broad issues for consideration by the international body at its next assembly. One of the important decisions reached by the committee was the endorsement of separate applications for WBU membership by the Caribbean nations if they wish to do so. Currently most of those nations belong to the WBU through a pooled membership in the North America/Caribbean Region. The regional committee also endorsed holding the 1992 international assembly of the WBU in Asia. Although the week I spent before Christmas as a student at the STORER Computer Access Center in Cleveland, Ohio, was as an interested individual rather than as a representative of the American Council of the Blind, I want to thank the staff of the STORER Center for the excellent job they did in improving my computer and related knowledge during the brief time I was there. My interests and schedule did not fit the usual mold, so they demonstrated extraordinary flexibility in revamping their approach to fit my needs and schedule. I want to thank also the staff of the Cleveland Sight Center, the parent organization of the STORER Center, for their outstanding hospitality and cordiality. During the last weeks of 1989 all members of the ACB National Office staff were forced to devote a lot of time solving problems created by an overly zealous and unethical fund raiser hired briefly by one of ACB’s outstanding affiliates. Let me emphasize that the affiliate was an innocent victim during the brief time it employed the fund raiser, whose services were terminated as quickly as possible after his questionable practices became known. This situation is mentioned now only to underscore the fact that, although some professional fund raisers may claim or imply otherwise, the national office of the American Council of the Blind does not recommend any specific fund raiser. Further, we will to the extent time will permit, review proposed fund raising contracts being considered by our affiliates and, to the extent information is available, discuss with them the experience of other affiliates with the fund raisers in question. ***** ** Future ACB Convention Sites Chosen In accordance with a resolution passed by the ACB convention during its 1989 annual meeting in Richmond, the National Convention Committee has worked in conjunction with the ACB Board of Directors to select convention sites for future ACB meetings. The ACB Board of Directors has approved the following selections for upcoming ACB conventions: 1992 – Phoenix, Arizona 1993 – San Francisco, California 1994 – Chicago, Illinois A full report will be given by the ACB Convention Coordinator as part of ACB business during the 1990 convention in Denver, CO. ***** ** The President’s Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities 1990 Annual Meeting & National Conference May 2-4, 1990 Washington Hilton Hotel Washington, DC Agenda for the ‘90s: Full Employment for All Plan to be among the more than 4,000 attendees at this annual training conference. Participants will hear about innovative programs to employ people with disabilities. You will be able to network with people of similar interests, review key national issues, and suggest strategies for affecting changes. Speakers will be featured from the federal government, business and industry, organized labor, universities, the mass media and the disability community. Some of the topics that will be examined by experts from around the country are: • The Job Marketplace in the 1990s • The Americans with Disabilities Act • Developing Leadership Among Advocates • Entrepreneurs with Disabilities • Access of Employment Through Technology • Careers and People with Disabilities • Older Americans with Disabilities • Retaining Workers Who Become Disabled Other program highlights include: • Forum on ADA Regulations • Reports from Congress • The President’s Trophy to the Disabled American of the Year • Over 100 Exhibits • Evening Entertainment There is no registration fee! For an invitation and registration form regarding the PCEPD 1990 Annual Meeting contact The President’s Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities, 1111 20th St. N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036-3470. ***** ** Legislative Agenda for 1990 — And Beyond By Kathleen Megivern As Congress returns to town after the long Christmas break, it seems to be a good time to review where we are on several items of interest and to look ahead at what we can expect in coming months. The highest priority, of course, remains the Americans with Disabilities Act. The ambitious schedule of finishing hearings in February and having a vote by the House of Representatives in March is looking a bit shaky although we are still working toward those goals. One of the problems is that February is a short month, not only for the “real world” but especially for Congress which takes a recess for the Lincoln-Washington birthdays. There are three Committees which need to finish their “mark ups” of the bill: Energy and Commerce, chaired by Rep. John Dingell (D-MI); Judiciary, chaired by Rep. Jack Brooks (D-TX); and Public Works and Transportation, chaired by Rep. Glenn Anderson (D-CA). We are expecting lots of problems from both Greyhound and Amtrak on the transportation sections of the bill. Perhaps one of our greatest enemies at this point is that too many people think ADA is a “done deal.” Either they think that the passage by the Senate last September was all that was needed, or they believe that with a 76-8 vote in the Senate and a 35-0 vote in the House Committee on Education and Labor, the rest will be easy. Nothing could be further from the truth. We have an extremely difficult battle in the weeks ahead and we urge you to be in touch with your Representative about support of ADA — with no weakening amendments! Meanwhile, what happened to the Education of the Handicapped Act? The short answer is — nothing! The reauthorization has been passed by the Senate and that version contains most of the changes which were being promoted by the National Coalition on Deaf-Blindness. The House version, however, remains “stuck” (as it has been for nearly a year). The House Subcommittee on Select Education is still talking about one more hearing on EHA before they proceed with “mark up” (this is the process where the Committee prepares the bill for its final vote on the House floor). The never-ending Appropriations process is, of course, in full swing once again. There is little that can be written about that subject since, as we go to press, the President’s Budget has not yet been released. But we can expect some difficult battles on that front as Congress and the President struggle to fund important social programs while at the same time trying to reduce the run-away federal deficit. Perhaps the most interesting development on that score is the move by Senator Moynihan (D-NY) and Senator Heinz (R-PA) to stop the practice of using the surplus in the Social Security program to offset the federal deficit. It’s a political “hot potato” which could turn out to be even messier than the “Catastrophic Care” debacle of last year. One issue which we have not previously reported on is the Family and Medical Leave Act. This legislation could also have significant impact on people with disabilities. A bipartisan compromise has been reached in the House of Representatives and that version of the bill would require all employers with 50 or more employees (after three years it gets reduced to 35 or more employees) to provide unpaid family leave and medical leave to their employees. Under family leave, an employee may take up to 10 weeks over a 24 month period for birth, adoption or serious illness of a child or for illness of an elderly parent for whom the employee may be responsible. Under medical leave an employee is allowed to take up to 15 weeks — again, unpaid — when a serious medical condition interferes with his or her performance on the job. This last provision would obviously be of great benefit to certain disabled people who may need extended leave for medical treatments, surgery or other therapy. Employees must have been employed for at least one year and they must work at least 20 hours a week in order to be covered. Those in the top 10% by salary may be exempt from this policy if an employer can demonstrate business necessity. As we go to press, the House of Representatives is preparing to act on this bill (H.R. 770) and the Senate will follow-up with its own version (S. 345) later. As we look beyond the immediate activities there are several important issues looming. It will soon be time to begin work on the reauthorization of the Rehabilitation Act, the Developmental Disabilities Act and Part H of the Education of the Handicapped Act (Infant and Preschool). In addition, with the sweeping changes in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union, people are talking about possible savings in defense spending and potential domestic priorities like some sort of national health insurance plan. Whatever develops, it promises to be an extremely busy couple of years for advocates of people with disabilities. Stay tuned! (Reprinted from AER Report, January 1990) ***** ** ACB Job Connection — A Service with a New Feature By Ninetta Garner Have you called the “Washington Connection” and sometimes received information about a job opening? This is one way ACB provides current information about employment opportunities in the job market. ACB will take its “Job Connection” one step further by “connecting” job seekers with potential employers at this year’s national convention in Denver, Colorado. State and private agencies, schools for the blind, and other employers will be informed of this new service and are being invited to participate by submitting notices of job openings (including the job title, a brief description, and the name, address and phone number of a contact person either attending the convention or at the home office) to the ACB National Office to the attention of Ninetta Garner by June 1, 1990. This information will be compiled prior to convention week in a “Job Connection” packet which will be available on cassette and in large print. If appropriate, information will be added or updated during convention week. These packets will be available for distribution at the ACB Convention Information Desk during convention week. Employers who are interested in participating in this service but have not received the direct mailing concerning its initiation are encouraged to call the ACB national office for complete information. Linking job seekers with potential employers is a service long overdue. We anticipate great interest in this program and look for support in implementing it at the upcoming 29th ACB national convention. ***** ** Mile High City Awaits ACB By Robert J. Acosta I hope that your plans are well under way for your attendance at the upcoming convention of the American Council of the Blind. Convention dates for ACB’s 29th annual convention are June 29 to July 7, 1990. The two convention hotels are the Sheraton Tech Center (800) 552-7030, and the Hyatt Regency Tech Center (800) 233-1234, both located in the Denver suburb of Englewood. Room rates for both of these luxurious hotels are $45.00 for single through quad rooms. As we go to press, the National Convention Committee is sending out sign-up/information forms to ACB’s 21 special-interest organizations. Please do what you can to help any special-interest group with which you are involved to fill out and return these forms. These forms help us coordinate these 21 mini-conventions that are so vital a part of each ACB conference. The ACB convention program and entire registration process depend on timely and accurate completion of these forms. For those who wish to hold smaller workshops or special meetings, contact John Horst, Assistant Convention Coordinator at (717) 826-2361. He will do everything possible to accommodate your needs and wishes. He can arrange for meeting rooms, refreshments and other needs as well. At the mid-year meeting of ACB’s Board of Directors, a change was approved concerning the convention program schedule that may affect your travel requirements. A session of ACB’s main convention meeting will be held on Sunday evening for introductory and ceremonial purposes. The roll call of affiliates and other important ACB activities will be conducted at this new session. However, this meeting will not constitute the ‘first’ general session of the Convention as mentioned in the ACB Constitution and/or By-Laws for those committees who must submit reports in compliance with ACB procedures. For committees such as Credentials and Constitution and By-Laws, the convention will be considered officially convened on Monday morning. This change is being made in order to allow as much time as possible for the conducting of ACB business at the end of the week and for the inclusion of speakers on the program. After April 1, the National Convention Committee will know if children’s activities will be available this year. We need to hear from those parents who count on these activities during the week. Please contact me regarding your needs at (818) 349-2636. If you wish to write to me, please send your inquiries and comments to Robert J. Acosta, 8915 Reseda Blvd., Northridge, CA 91324. We will have final information after April 1. If you fly to Denver, we suggest that you go from your airline to the ground transportation desk in the baggage claim area. Attendants at this desk can advise you concerning taxis and shuttle services from the airport to either convention hotel. Two airport shuttle services are available for $7 one way. The price of a taxi from the airport to either hotel is approximately $18.00 by city streets, and $25 when driven by freeway. For conventioners who come by Amtrak or Greyhound, be prepared to pay approximately $20.00 from downtown Denver to either convention hotel. We recommend that Greyhound passengers check on the possibility of taking the bus to the suburb of Englewood in order to be nearer to the hotels. ACB of Colorado is hard at work alongside the National Convention Committee to provide you with the best ACB convention ever! We are making many visits to the ‘mile high’ city, and we have found everybody most cooperative and friendly. The American Council of the Blind and its dynamic special-interest affiliates grow ever larger. Come to Denver and see for yourself that ACB is the largest and fastest-growing organization of the blind in America. Learn for yourself how constructive the organization is in its deliberations on those policies that will make life better for the blind of the nation. The mile-high city awaits you with open arms! ***** ** Let’s Commit a Little Public Scrutiny By Mary Jane Owen You’ve heard of deficiencies in iron, calcium, potassium, Vitamin B, and just about any other letter of the alphabet. But have you ever heard of “DK” deficiency? It’s rampant in America, but not so much among people with disabilities, as people without. Chances are, you probably didn’t get your minimum daily requirement of “DK” in that morning newspaper you glance through as you gulp down a first cup of coffee, and the lens used by your favorite evening news anchor probably never focuses on how critically that lack affects every aspect of American life. Too few of us have sufficient “Disability Knowledge” to address an evolving demographic crisis: More and more of us are surviving the risks, stresses and traumas (car accidents, heart attacks, head injuries, etc.) that would have killed our parents and are, for that reason, being herded toward depressing dependency. The reason we’re surviving is that medical science and various evolving technologies can salvage damaged minds and bodies while providing the methods and tools for continued productive living. In contrast, though, our social systems limp along, crippled by the sort of benevolent programs devised to deal with those pitiful few who managed to survive as invalids, consigned to roles of dependency on the alms of their benefactors. Such words and concepts are inappropriate today. But as we clean up our language, we need to remember actions are even better than soothing rhetoric. And it takes “DK” combined with action to cure a dreary status quo. An example of the deficiency is the fear some people have about the pending Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Although the ADA is supported by nearly all members of Congress and President George Bush, The New York Times felt it appropriate to tell its readers that this pending legislation moved too fast through the U.S. Senate without receiving adequate “public scrutiny.” (Whom can we blame for that?) Of course, it’s hard to be objective about one’s own civil rights. A sense that the game of life should have rules that assure some measure of equity and dignity runs through so many of our social institutions that the average person expects to be treated fairly or gets pretty upset about it. That idealism consequently has resulted in federal standards by which we are guided in our treatment of various “minorities.” But we’ve been painfully slow in including the disabled community under those civil rights protections. Therefore, some of us have thought the Senate’s approval of ADA was unduly delayed. Over the past decade, a number of studies have indicated people with disabilities share a growing sense of common identity. They recognize exclusion from the American “Opportunity Society” is the result of discrimination. A Louis Harris and Associates survey in 1986 illustrated the pain and humiliation endured by what was then estimated to be 39 million Americans. Only 25 percent of those of working age held full-time jobs, even though the vast majority wanted to work. This national sample was less educated, had less social life, and was more likely to live below the poverty line than nondisabled peers. Several years earlier, the U.S. Civil Rights Commission had found that people with disabilities consistently were treated as “second class citizens.” You probably didn’t even find any of these factual stories “scrutinized” by your local news services. Even if the disability community were a static population, this reflection of what it means to be disabled in America should raise some doubts about the wisdom of current policy. But also consider that as we age as a society, we accumulate more and more people with disabilities. The preamble to ADA affirms it will provide essential civil rights to 43 million of our fellow citizens. Add friends and families and you have a powerful group of concern. In fact, you won’t find many people willing to come right out and say they are against the legislation protecting the right of “the handicapped,” but we need a bit of common sense and “DK” out there to counter the free-floating anxiety that thrives on ignorance. A real solution about real people in real situations is like a beam of light on a dark night. It chases out the bogies and illuminates our social environment. And yet there’s been so little illumination in the media. Nobody with even a vague interest in the disability community could have failed to notice that our “news” is just beginning to be covered. We’ve gotten some prime time attention on the Jerry Lewis Telethon, but little serious consideration on “Night Line.” It’s too bad all the Congressional hearings around the country, along with those careful studies and surveys about disability issues, go unreported. It’s too bad that even the status quo, which kept us out of the mainstream, and which costs the nation $169 billion a year, also didn’t merit journalistic inquiry. Editors and reporters have gotten caught up in the same psychological webs that prevent the larger society from taking disability seriously as a major social crisis. Fear and discomfort about our shared human vulnerability may explain why otherwise rational people refrain from analyzing the consequences of that growing pattern of surviving beyond impairments. While we weren’t looking, disability changed from an occasional and individual tragedy into an event we can anticipate happening to increasing numbers of our peers. America needs to incorporate those 43 million citizens into the marketplace. The entrepreneurial system must reexamine this expanding opportunity, tapping into the underutilized pool of potential employees and marketing products to this expanding group of consumers. What’s good for 43 million Americans can’t be bad for America’s business community. We need the unique contribution of every citizen if we are to remain competitive in the international marketplace. Those ancient patterns of benevolence no longer are appropriate. President Bush made a commitment to open the doors of America’s Opportunity Society just a little wider. And we’re impatient to go through them. Reprinted with permission from Job Ready, November 1989, Vol. 1, No. 1 Editor’s Note: Mary Jane Owen is the director of Disability Focus, Inc., a national political group advocating for people with disabilities. She is a former editor and Congressional Liaison for the President’s Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities, and regularly writes and lectures on disability causes. Before she became blind in 1972, Mary Jane was a professor of social work at San Francisco University. Mary Jane is a member of the American Council of the Blind. ***** ** Blind American Slips Past KGB through Glasnost Door By Oral Miller One thing which most Americans find disconcerting the first time they travel to Russia is the requirement by their host that they give up possession of their passports while in Russia. The reason usually given for this requirement is that it prevents the theft or accidental loss of passports. Attorney James L. Neppl of Rockford, IL, is an experienced international traveler and he readily complied with this requirement as he entered Russia for a visit in early December, 1989. Mr. Neppl, who is an active member of the American Blind Lawyers Association as well as the world record holder in the shot put event in the International Blind Sports Association, nonchalantly accepted his passport as it was returned to him before he left his hotel to board his plane to fly to Copenhagen, Denmark, where he was next to attend an international disabled sports conference. He then went through the usual examination of documents as he left Russia, entered Denmark and registered for the conference at the Danish National Sports College. During the second day of the conference Mr. Neppl was called out of the meeting with an urgent message to call the American Embassy in Copenhagen immediately. The American diplomat with whom he spoke by phone shocked him by informing him that his last passport had been brought to the embassy by another American who lived permanently in Copenhagen and who had just returned from Russia also. Mr. Neppl expressed great surprise and doubt at this news and immediately placed his hand on the passport resting securely in his inside coat pocket. However, because the American diplomat was so insistent, he asked a sighted traveling companion, who happened to be his tax accountant from Rockford, to examine his passport. That’s when they discovered he had been cleared for departure from Russia and entry into Denmark by both Russian and Danish passport control authorities as well as Russian and Danish airlines personnel while unknowingly carrying the passport of another American citizen. And how was the inadvertent switch of passports discovered? By the American citizen who ended up with Mr. Neppl’s passport and who also ended up being detained for several hours by Russian authorities for attempting to leave Russian carrying another man’s passport! How did the American embassy in Copenhagen know where to contact Mr. Neppl? The other American, after finally getting back to Copenhagen with Mr. Neppl’s passport, angrily called the Neppl home in Illinois at 3 a.m. Rockford time and explained the situation to Mr. Neppl’s sleepy wife, who, in turn, told him where Mr. Neppl could be reached in Copenhagen. Since Mrs. Neppl knew only the other American’s version of the story and did not know whether her husband had been detained also, she immediately placed a frantic call to the conference in Copenhagen, reaching him moments after he finished talking to the American Embassy. Do not think that the examination of passports and other travel documents is so routine and nonchalant that Mr. Neppl’s situation could happen to anyone. To the contrary, another attendee at the conference in Copenhagen was detained for many hours by Danish authorities because his travel documents were not completely in order. In fact, he was not released until the Danish president of the organization sponsoring the conference vouched personally for him. If this had not been done, that attendee would have been sent directly back to his own country. Indeed, things have changed a lot in the USSR since the recent adoption of the policy of glasnost — which is best defined as openness to the world. ***** ** Where Are They Now? By Stephanie Cooper Recently the American Council of the Blind contacted past ACB scholarship recipients in hopes of being brought up-to-date on what has been happening in their lives since we first met them through the scholarship application process. We are extremely pleased and proud to learn of their continuing involvement in a wide variety of academic pursuits and activities and we would like to share this information with the readers of the Braille Forum. Rose Angelocci, New Orleans, Louisiana – Rose was attending the University of New Orleans when she was awarded an ACB scholarship. She has since transferred to Louisiana State University Medical Center and will be finishing her Bachelor’s Degree in Rehabilitation Counseling in August, 1990. Rose is employed at the Training and Resource Center for the Blind at the University of New Orleans. She hopes to continue her studies at the graduate level. Stacie Cranney, Provo, Utah – Stacie is a senior at Brigham Young University studying Political Science. She has worked as an intern in Washington, DC for Representative Richard H. Stallings from Idaho and studied for a semester at the Jerusalem Center for Near Eastern Studies in Israel. While in Jerusalem Stacie studied the Bible, Arabic, Middle East history and politics, and Jewish Philosophy. Stacie has recently begun work as a teaching assistant in the American Heritage Department at BYU. Tina Davis, Memphis, Tennessee – Tina is a graduate student in Counseling at Memphis State University and has recently begun work on her dissertation. She continues to volunteer at the Suicide Intervention and Crisis Center which she finds very rewarding. She is looking forward to finishing up her degree work and beginning to work in the field of counseling. Cheryl Sedei Godley, Sheridan, Wyoming – Cheryl received her Master’s Degree in Music Therapy from the University of Miami. After graduation Cheryl married and relocated to Sheridan, Wyoming. In Sheridan she began a private practice called Biofeedback and Music Therapy Service. Her practice includes treatment for chronic pain sufferers and migraine patients, stress management, and music therapy with children. She is now pursuing her Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology at Colorado State University in Fort Collins. Kristal Hagemoser, Omaha, Nebraska – Kristal graduated from the University of Wisconsin, Madison in December, 1987, with a Master’s Degree in Medical Genetics. Due to decreased vision after graduation Kristal participated in a rehabilitation program learning braille and cane travel and generally strengthening her self-confidence as a visually impaired person. Kristal is now employed as a genetic counselor with the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha. She serves on the Board of Directors of the National Alliance of Blind Students, a national affiliate of the American Council of the Blind. Jill Naumann Hoff, Milwaukee, Wisconsin – Jill graduated from North Central Technical institute in Wausau, Wisconsin, with a degree in Data Processing. In the years since graduation Jill has married, relocated to the Milwaukee area, and has experienced some medical difficulties. She is now recovering from a recent operation and hopes to look for a job soon. Walden Hughes, Costa Mesa, California – Walden is a senior at the University of California, Irvine, and plans to graduate in spring, 1990. Walden has a double major in Economics and Political Science and a minor in Business Management. Walden hopes to enroll in an MBA program specializing in finance. Gynger Ingram, Shreveport, Louisiana – Gynger graduated summa cum laude from Northwest State University in Louisiana with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English. She received many awards during her academic career including the Senior Book Award for Alpha Lambda Delta Honor Society and the 1989 Outstanding Student in the English Department. Gynger has completed her first novel and will begin the first revisions on it in the near future. Barbara Jonsson, New York, New York – Barbara remains a full-time graduate student at Columbia University, School of Public Health. She plans to complete her dissertation in the area of maternal and child health during 1990. Barbara is also pursuing an undergraduate degree in Nursing on a part-time basis. She is the mother of two and is active in student government and volunteering with handicapped children. Lynn Mattioli, Easton, Pennsylvania – Lynn is a junior at Albright College studying Dietetics. She has pledged Gamma Sigma Sigma, a national service sorority, and serves on the student advisory board in the Human Ecology Department at Albright. In 1989 she was recognized by the Berks County Home Economics Association for academic achievement and professional potential. Brian McCall, Lansdowne, Pennsylvania – Brian is a sophomore at Yale University pursuing a degree in Political Science. Brian is active in the Tory Party, a conservative debating society, the Yale Political Union, the St. Thomas More Undergraduate Council and the Yale International Relations Association. Brian has worked as an intern in the district office of Congressman Curt Weldon of the 7th Congressional District in Pennsylvania. Debbie Ann Snodgrass, Cleveland, Ohio – Debbie graduated summa cum laude from Cuyahoga Community College in June 1986, with an Associate of Applied Science Degree in Physical Therapy. She is now nearing completion of her Bachelor’s Degree in Allied Health Services in Gerontology from Capital University Cleveland Center. Debbie is a licensed physical therapist and hopes to become a licensed social worker after graduation. She would like to use her combined degrees to work in some way with people with disabilities. Lisa L. Valvano, Edison, New Jersey – Lisa graduated from Seton Hall University with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Psychology in May of 1988. The employment scene looked less than promising for Lisa so she started writing children’s books. She hopes to have her books published and to return to school to pursue coursework in Children’s Literature. Lisa is a volunteer reporter for the newsletter of the Independent Living Resource Center in Edison and plans to do some free-lance writing for a Catholic newspaper as well. Heidi von Ravensberg, Portland, Oregon – Heidi has received her Microcomputer Information Systems Certificate from Lane Community College and is now a senior at the College of Business Administration at the University of Oregon. Heidi is studying marketing and is an active member of the American Business Women’s Association. Heidi has been an active member of the Oregon Council of the Blind, Emerald Chapter, for many years and has participated on many statewide programs for the Council and the Oregon Commission. We wish all ACB scholarship winners who responded, and those who did not, the best of luck and good fortune in all of their endeavors. If you are an ACB scholarship winner who did not respond or if you know someone who falls into this category, we encourage you to write the ACB National Office and let us know what you have been doing since graduation. The American Council of the Blind is pleased to be able to assist blind and visually impaired college students in their academic pursuits. If you or someone you know would benefit from scholarship assistance we encourage you to apply for an ACB scholarship. The application deadline for the 1990-91 academic year is April 1, 1990. Applications can be obtained by contacting the ACB National office at 1-800-424-8666. ***** ** Report Shows Strong Support by Blind and Low-Vision Adults for New Telephone-Based Services By Frank G. Bowe, Ph.D. The telephone is a crucial product for most blind and low-vision Americans. Surprisingly, however, little knowledge is available on the needs and beliefs of blind and low-vision adults about telephone-based services. The need for such information is urgent, especially now that Congress is signaling an interest in possibly amending the 1934 Communications Act, the nation’s bedrock law on telephones. To help meet this need, the Council cooperated with Hofstra University, in New York, to survey 200 ACB members about their views. The Council sent questionnaires to random selected members who had attended the 1989 Richmond convention. Responses were sent to Hofstra for analysis. The opinions of 107 respondents demonstrate strong interest in new and improved telecommunications products and services. Of the 200 ACB members contacted, 98 replied, for a 49% response rate. In addition, nine other persons identified themselves as blind or low-vision and were included in the data analysis. The survey was conducted in October and November, 1989. Respondents asked for “accessible” White and Yellow Pages information, most saying they wanted these by voice, some in large print, and some in braille. They said they believed spoken White and Yellow pages data should be provided to them at no extra charge, since printed directories are offered to sighted telephone customers free. At present, local Bell telephone companies are prohibited from providing spoken White and Yellow Pages because current policy says that would be “alteration of content.” Legislation would be needed to allow the Bells to offer electronic, spoken White or Yellow Pages. [Another Hofstra survey, this one of learning-disabled adults, revealed a similar preference for spoken White and Yellow Pages, supporting what blind and low-vision respondents said they wanted.] Respondents also expressed keen interest in seeing telephone switching stations equipped with speech synthesis technology, so that they could use the phone to listen to information on computer databases, local bus schedules, daily newspapers, etc. Respondents said they would be willing to pay as much as $15 per month, on average, for such speech-based information services, because such services would make them more independent. Only 23% of the respondents had a modem-equipped PC at home, so the majority wanted information services delivered by means of a telephone instead; all had a phone at home. This is something Rep. Al Swift, of Washington State, has expressed support for: he believes that “intelligence” including the ability to switch from text to voice, should be built into the telephone network itself so people don’t have to buy costly equipment and software programs for their homes. The respondents agreed with Mr. Swift: 60%, or three in every five, said they preferred to get information via the telephone rather than have to purchase a PC, a modem, and a speech synthesizer to get the same information. Virtually all respondents wanted their privacy protected in any such service. Privacy is a key concern of Rep. Ron Wyden, of Oregon, who will soon introduce a consumer safeguards amendment to protect consumers in any new telephone information service. The survey asked respondents whether local telephone companies (the Bells) should be allowed to offer these services. The vast majority (97%) said they should be given permission, most saying that regulation by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) would be appropriate. Reps. John Dingell, of Michigan, and Edward Markey, of Massachusetts, have taken the lead in drafting legislation which would allow the Bells to provide such services. Respondents were also asked whether the Bells should be allowed to manufacture equipment; again, the overwhelming majority (96%) said, “Yes.” Here, Senator Ernest Hollings, of South Carolina, is the Hill leader. On November 21, 1989, he introduced S. 1981, a bill allowing the Bells to manufacture equipment through fully separate subsidiaries. Support for the survey, including postage and printing costs, was provided to Hofstra by Ameritech, Bell Atlantic, Bell South, NYNEX, Pacific Telesis, Southwestern Bell, and US West. AT&T already has permission to offer information services such as electronic White and Yellow Pages and to manufacture equipment. For the Bells to be able to do these things, however, Congress must enact new legislation. The findings, accordingly, may be of interest to AT&T, the Bells, and Congress. Readers who agree with survey results may contact Senator Hollings and Reps. Dingell, Markey, Swift and Wyden to call their attention to the need to incorporate into pending bills provisions responding to the desires expressed by blind and low-vision respondents in this survey. The bills introduced to date do not include provisions specifically addressing those concerns. Readers who want copies of pending legislation may contact the ACB National Office. Copies of S. 1981 may also be obtained from Senator Hollings, US Senate, Washington, DC 20510. For copies of the Dingell-Markey and Wyden bills, write to the appropriate Representative, US House of Representatives, Washington, DC 20515. Copies of the full report (in print or on disk) are available from the ACB National Office or from Hofstra University, Mason Hall Room 111, Hempstead, NY 11550. ***** ** Descriptive Video Service Making TV Accessible for Visually Impaired Audiences Descriptive Video Service (DVS) was officially launched as a permanent service on Wednesday, January 24, 1990, with the PBS/American Playhouse airing of the world premiere of Richard Nelson’s play, “Sensibility and Sense.” MYSTERY will be the next PBS program series to include DVS, beginning March 22, on the series, “A Taste for Death.” Descriptive Video Service has its root sin Audio Description, the art of expertly describing visual elements of live theater, such as costumes, facial expressions, body language, colors and actions – not evident from stage or screen sounds or dialogue. We can thank Dr. Margaret R. Pfanstiehl, founder and president of the Washington Ear, DC’s radio reading service, and her husband Cody for developing the process of audio-description and spearheading its growth into a service now offered in many theaters around the country. Once Audio Description was refined and became a regular service in Washington theaters, Margaret and Cody envisioned applying it to TV. So did Dr. Barry Cronin of WGBH in Boston. However, their dream awaited the availability of stereo TV sets with the Separate Audio Program (SAP). This feature (the SAP channel) would allow viewers to receive the descriptions directly through stereo TV’s or VCR’s. By 1984 the technology was in place and the rest is history! Persons who do not have a stereo TV or a stereo VCR can purchase a relatively inexpensive adapter to receive the separate channel. Thanks go not only to the Pfanstiehls and Dr. Cronin but also to Laurie Everett who is the director of the new WGBH Descriptive Video Services; Public Television Playhouse, Inc., which pioneered the idea with the American Playhouse series; and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and The National Endowment for the Arts for financial support. ACB members also have played a role in the development of this exciting service by participating in tests, sharing their expertise, and providing consumer feedback. ACB convention attendees were treated to a preview of the service in Little Rock, AR when Margaret and Cody Pfanstiehl demonstrated DVS and fielded questions and answers from the audience. Laurie Everett is also no stranger either to ACB meetings and conventions and we welcome her back as often as she can be with us. For a complete list of PBS stations that are currently “SAP-equipped” and plan to carry Descriptive Video Service contact the ACB national office or Sharon King, Outreach Director, DVS, WGBH Educational Foundation, 125 Western Ave., Boston, MA 02134. Tel. (617) 492-2777 Ext. 3495. ***** ** AFB Accepting Applications for Low Interest Loans to Help Visually Impaired People Purchase Portable Reading Machine The American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) is now accepting and processing applications from blind and visually impaired people of all ages for a low interest loan to help purchase a portable reading machine called the Personal Reader. The Personal Reader is a portable, computer-based system that reads typeset or typewritten print and turns it into easily understood synthetic speech. AFB and the Xerox Corporation each committed $1 million to launch the loan fund. To be eligible, blind and visually impaired applicants must demonstrate financial need, an ability to handle the carrying costs of the loan, and a need for a reading machine in education, vocational, employment (including self-employment), or community service work. To obtain an application form, call AFB’s toll-free hotline, 1-800-232-5463; New York residents call 212-620-2147. Please specify if you want a large print or braille form. For more information about the loan program, write to Mark Uslan, AFB’s National Consultant on Orientation & Mobility and Loan Program Coordinator, American Foundation for the Blind, 15 West 16th St., New York, NY 10011; or call (212) 620-2041. Developed by Kurzweil Computer Products, Inc., a Xerox company based in Cambridge, MA, the Personal Reader can include an easy-to-use, hand-held scanner, a desktop scanner or both. Under the Loan Fund the device is being offered at a 30 percent discount, and a reduced interest rate. “The AFB low interest loan fund will make it easier for many blind and visually impaired individuals to obtain an extraordinary high-performance device which will, in turn, help them pursue a wider range of meaningful employment and educational and vocational opportunities,” said AFB President and Executive Director William F. Gallagher. The American Foundation for the Blind is a national, nonprofit organization that advocates, develops and provides programs and services to help blind and visually impaired people achieve independence with dignity in all sectors of society. AFB Press Release Nov. 1989 ***** ** Changes in Social Security, Supplemental Security Income and Social Security Disability Insurance Benefits – Effective January 1990 The following information has been received from the Social Security Administration in their publication Social Security Information Items. January Social Security and supplemental security income checks will contain an increase of 4.7 percent for some 39 million Social Security and 4 million SSI beneficiaries. The annual benefit change raises the amount of the maximum age 65 Social Security retirement benefits to $975 a month and the full Federal SSI payment to $386 for an individual and $579 for a couple. Not everybody gets payments in those amounts, however. Some people get more because they live in a State that adds to the payments. Some get less because they have other income. The income limits rise accordingly. A single person or child with countable income of less than $386 may qualify for a Federal payment; a couple may qualify with countable income of $579. Not all income is “countable.” For example, the first $20 a month of most kinds of income doesn’t count. Earnings of $65 a month aren’t counted, and only half of earnings over $65 a month are counted. Because of this earnings exclusion, an individual could earn as much as $857 and still receive a partial Federal payment. A couple could earn as much as $1,243. Also not generally counted as income are food stamps, home energy assistance, or food, clothing, and shelter received from private nonprofit organizations. The substantial gainful activity (SGA) level for blind people has been raised to $780 per month. In addition to SGA amounts, the levels for a “trial work period” have also been raised. If a person who receives Disability Insurance benefits returns to work, those benefits can continue during a 9-month trial work period, or TWP. In the past, earnings of more than $75 monthly, or 15 hours of work per month for a self-employed person, constituted a TWP month. Under the new rules, the level that triggers entry into the TWP rises to $200 monthly, or 40 hours of work for self-employed people. ***** ** High Tech Swap Shop * For Sale: Low Vision Machine VTEK Voyager Plus Model 9-88. Completely factory reconditioned July 1989. Used until September 1989. 5 year transferable warranty still in effect. $1899.00. For more information call: Roger Murray at (616) 343-9839 or Susan Foster at (406) 538-7068 (evenings only). * For Sale: Low cost print and braille system for IBM compatible computers, hardware and software. System consists of Brother HR40 daisy wheel printer with 15 inch wide carriage, tractor and friction feed. Easy to operate with print and braille manuals. Special soft roller for producing draft quality braille. Braille translation software for grade 1, 2 and computer braille. Two text formatter programs for ASCII and WordPerfect files. Print, braille and disk based documentation for all tractor feed 60 weight braille paper included and ink ribbons. Original cost $1700; will sell for $800 plus shipping. For more information call Mr. Tandy Way, 8909 Peppermill Ct., Tampa, FL 33634. Phone (813) 885-7182. * For Sale: NEC 8300 portable laptop computer adapted for speech. Contains own software; can upload to or download from a PC. Can attach to any printer. Is accompanied by its manuals (print and cassette). $500.00. Contact Denise Decker, 922 24th St., N.W., #513, Washington, DC 20037. (202) 333-2318. Call after 6:00 p.m. or weekends. * For Sale: Optacon, Model R1D. Never used, in leather case. $2,900 or best offer. Contact: C. Dreher, 98 Park Ridge Drive, #304, San Francisco, CA 94131. Call (415) 285-6016. * For Sale: Versabraille Model P2C in very good condition with manuals, charger and cables. $975 COD/UPS. Also a Thiel embosser at $4,500. William Dickerman, Region IV Education Service Center, P.O. Box 863, Houston, TX 77001. Tel. (713) 462-7708, Ext. 227. * For Sale: Braille Printer Terminal-ED 120. Great condition. Contact: Everett Roberts, 2959 Lexington Court, Woodbridge, VA 22192. Tel. (703) 325-3406 (work) or (703) 494-2340 (home). * For Sale: AT&T Answering Machine. Standard AC line cord attached. Detachable base for wall mounting or desktop use. Comes with microcassette in place. Built in mechanical message with pleasant male voice. 3-way record. Records messages of 1 minute in duration, preset at factory. Tel. jack for attaching AT&T Tribune telephone (phone not included). $50.00 or best offer. For more information contact: Edwin Yakubowski, Jr., 5712 Oakland Road, Sykesville, MD 21784. Tel. (301) 781-4951. * For Sale: VTEK Voyager closed circuit TV magnifier. Has been used very little. Original cost $2500, will sell for $1200. Call Cincinnati (513) 874-5194. ***** ** Here and There By Elizabeth Lennon Applications are being accepted for the Barbara Jackman Zuckert Scholarship for Blind Part-Time Students at the George Washington University. Scholarships of up to $2500 for the 1990-91 academic year will be awarded to one or more visually impaired or blind students at the George Washington University. Although financial need will be the most strongly considered factor in selecting a recipient, it may not be the sole deciding factor. Scholastic excellence, opportunity for career advancement, or other notable circumstances may be considered. Any visually impaired or blind student meeting eligibility requirements can be selected as a recipient of the Barbara Jackman Zuckert Scholarship. However, students pursuing studies part time will be given the strongest consideration. Barbara Jackman Zuckert Scholarship brochures and application forms can be obtained from the Office of Disabled Student Services, The George Washington University, Rice Hall, Suite 401, Washington, DC 20052. The deadline for receipt of completed applications for the 1990-91 award is May 30, 1990. The award recipient(s) will be announced prior to registration for the fall semester, 1990. For further information, please contact Christy Willis, coordinator of Disabled Student Services, or Linda Donnels, Assistant Dean for Educational Services, at (202) 994-8250. Here’s an item of interest for all old time radio buffs! The Duane Griffin Radio Library offers old time radio programs on 4-track, slow speed cassettes. Send $2.00 for the tape catalog. Make checks out to: The Bonneville Counsel of V.I.P.’s. Send order to the Duane Griffin Radio Library, 2265 Wahlquist, Idaho Falls, Idaho 83401. Tel. (208) 522-9008. Blind San Franciscans, Inc. offers braille map of San Francisco and San Francisco International Airport with 43 pages of street listings and all the points of interest. Available for $5.00 each. Send checks or money orders to Blind San Franciscans, 2417 Greenwich St., San Francisco, CA 94123.Tel. (415) 563-4896. ATTENTION ALL ACB MEMBERS AND FRIENDS WHO HAVE STUDIED ABROAD!! The National Alliance of Blind Students (NABS) is interested in identifying ACB members and friends who have studied abroad and will be attending the 1990 ACB national convention in Denver, Colorado. NABS hopes to host a panel discussion on the pros and cons, ins and outs of blind students studying outside the United States. If you would be interested in participating in a panel discussion on studying abroad, please contact Stephanie Cooper in the ACB national office. Tel. 1-800-424-8666. Tri Visual Services has available the 6th revision of “A RESOURCE GUIDE TO COMPUTER ACCESS FOR VISUALLY IMPAIRED PEOPLE.” The directory is available in large print or braille for $15.00. In this revision, Tri Visual has added information on computer related publications, computer user groups and discount mail order houses for the convenience of shopping from home. Your very own directory can be ordered by sending a check, money order or purchase order in the amount of $15.00 to Tri Visual Services, P.O. Box 221310, Sacramento, CA 95822. Be sure to specify large print or braille when ordering. The Minneapolis Society for the Blind, Rehabilitation Center presents “SIMPLE YET ELEGANT” A Jumbo-Print Cook-book. Low vision cooks will appreciate its extra large 48 point type; unique, stand-on-the-counter easel format; new easy-to-follow recipe format and most of all the selection of delicious time-tested recipes. $9.95 each plus $3.00 handling and shipping. (Minnesotans add $.60 tax per copy.) For information contact: Minneapolis Society for the Blind, 1936 Lyndale Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55403. Tel. (612) 871-2222. Highbrook Lodge, a summer camp in North East Ohio operated by the Cleveland Sight Center will open for the 1990 summer season June 15 and will hold seven separate sessions before closing on August 20th. The camp will serve about 400 blind and visually impaired as well as otherwise disabled infants, children, young adults, the elderly, and sighted family members. A session for very young children and their parents has been scheduled for July 21 to July 27. Experts from agencies serving the visually impaired, local colleges and universities as well as other organizations will hold seminars on topics of interest to the parents while the youngsters are engaged in educational and recreational activities with trained staff. The camp offers a broad array of educational, cultural, social, rehabilitative and recreational events. The National Aeronautic and Space Agency, NASA, will provide presentations with tactual, auditory and visual media on the latest space programs of the agency. Also Sea World will provide presentations on marine and aquatic life with live and tactual samples. For additional information on this camp which accepts campers from throughout the united Sates on a fee basis, contact B.A. Masoodi, Camp Director or Dorothy Hughes, Camp Registrar at: Cleveland Sight Center, 1909 East 101 Street, Cleveland, OH 44106. Tel. (217) 691-8118. From ACB Reports … Recently, the National Museum of American Art in Washington, DC received a grant in order to make a special exhibit, “Photography of Invention: Pictures of the 1980s” more accessible to visually impaired persons. Audio descriptions of a number of the photographs were developed which then could be heard through a system called “Sound Sticks” — small, hand-held plastic devices with loud speakers in them, which, when turned on, picked up the recording from a central tape machine located in the gallery. The low vision person walks around with the stick, listening to the description as each photograph is viewed. While this is the first use of audio description at the National Museum of American Art, it is anticipated that the technique will be used with other temporary exhibits and eventually with the entire collection. From LIFEPRINTS published by Blindskills, Inc., Box 5181, Salem, OR 97304. Lifeprints is available in braille and large print editions for the current subscription period, November 1989 to Summer 1990. However, those readers preferring a cassette edition will be happy to learn that it will be available through the inter-library loan program. Contact your regional librarian for additional information regarding the LIFEPRINTS cassette edition, which has been produced by the Talking Book and Braille Service of the Oregon State Librqary. A one-year subscription for this magazine, edited by Carol M. McCarl, who is a member of the ACB Board of Publications, is $15.00 per year. Help for the visually impaired shopper is now available in the form of a new guide published by Consumer Reports, according to the New York Times. The book is a large print edition of the Consumer Reports 1989 Buying Guide issue and is published by Grey Castle Press in Lakeville, CT, a new publisher that specializes in books for the visually impaired. The large print consumer guide includes every rating and article included in the regular-type edition. It is printed in 16-point type on 9 by 12 inch pages. Grey Castle Press plans to continue publishing the large-print edition of the guide annually. This year’s edition, which is about 400 pages, is $45 for the clothbound version and $29.95 for the paperback. The guide can be ordered through local bookstores or for an additional $5.00 for postage and handling from Grey Castle Press, Pocket Knife Square, Lakeville, CT 06039. National Braille Press and AT&T have collaborated to produce two new braille publications, according to Perspective, a newsletter of the Library of Michigan. AT&T Consumer Resource Guide offers a number of useful tips. It directs the reader to the AT&T National Special Needs Center, a center that assists physically challenged persons in using telephone equipment and utilizing long distance services. Area Code Handbook contains the most recent compilation of area codes listed by state and city. Both guides are free. Contact National Braille Press, 88 St. Stephen Street, Boston, MA 02115. During 1988-89 Recording for the Blind distributed 139,554 books to 23,983 borrowers. There are 74,471 books in the Master Tape Library and 2,778 new books were recorded during the year, according to the organization’s annual report. California led the nation with 2,665 borrowers and a total of 17,190 books ordered. From AER Reports: AER is pleased to announce the availability of two $500 Ferrell scholarships and one $1,000 Telesensory scholarship for students studying at the post-secondary level for a career in the field of services to blind and visually impaired people. Applicants for the Ferrell scholarship must be legally blind. Applicants for the Telesensory scholarship must be current members of AER. To receive a Ferrell-Telesensory Scholarship application form, contact AER, 206 N. Washington St., Suite 320, Alexandria, VA 22314. Completed applications must be received in the AER office by April 15, 1990. Available free of charge from IBM’s Support Center for Persons with Disabilities is a Resource Guide for Persons with Visual Impairments. This guide helps to identify products which assist disabled individuals in accessing IBM Personal Computers or the IBM PS/2 family of products. To obtain a free copy of the Resource Guide, please call (800) 426-2133 (Continental US V/TDD) or (800) 465-6600 (Canada). Available in regular or large print or on disk. “The greatest thing that a parent can give to a visually impaired child is a vision of freedom. If the parent is able to go beyond the grief of misfortune and turn the disability into discovery by using what the child has available to him, then in fact, the child will be able to live a life free of insecurity, enclosement, inferiority and not feel incapable of living at best, a close to normal life,” said Stevie Wonder, blind singer as he served as Honorary Conference chairman for the National Association of Parents of the Visually Impaired recent meeting in Detroit, according to the Newsletter of the Greater Detroit Society for the Blind. During the conference, Stevie’s mother, Eula Mae Hardaway, received the first NAPVI parent award. Badr Shenouda is a blind graduate student at Cornell University who is conducting research for his Ph.D. thesis titled, “The Adjustment of the Visually Impaired in Agriculture.” The work involves contacting and interviewing blind or visually impaired farmers across the country. From this information, Shenouda hopes to develop the first major assessment of the needs of the blind in agriculture, and to formulate programs designed to help them succeed in their profession. Shenouda is asking for blind farmers, or readers who know of blind farmers, to contact him if they are willing to help him do this research. They need only to send him their name, address and phone number. He will then contact them personally, treating all information they supply in strict confidence. Anyone wishing to contact Shenouda can do so by writing or calling him at the following address: Badr H. Shenouda 41-I Hasbrouck Apartments Ithaca, NY 14850 (607) 257-0151 Computer Conversations has announced the availability of VOS Basic, a complete speech output software system which will sell for a new low price of $350. VOS Basic contains Computer Conversations famous Enhanced PC Talking Program and features a redesigned keyboard handler plus several extra modules which give the system great flexibility. For further information, contact Computer Conversations, 6208 Worthington Road, SW, Alexandria, OH 43001. Laura Oftedahl, former ACB Director of Public Affairs, has accepted a position with WGBH Television Station in Boston, MA, according to the National Capital Citizens with Low Vision Newsletter. Laura has edited and published NCCLV’s newsletter for many years. She is also the producer of ACB Reports. From the Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness — Perkins School for the Blind has received a $15 million dollar grant from the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation of Los Angeles. The grant, to be distributed over the next five years, will fund new programs designed to support multiply handicapped blind persons and their families in the United States and in several countries around the world. Director Kevin J. Lessard stated that “the Hilton-Perkins National Program will include home-based services for blind, multiply handicapped infants and their families, support services for parents of blind, multi-handicapped children and financial assistance for the training of teachers at colleges and universities.” For information, contact Perkins School for the Blind, Public Relations, Watertown, MA 02172. Forget searching for that ever elusive phone number … Call on the Voice Dialer to save you time and frustration! Speaking Devices Corporation presents to you an easy-to-use yet effective telephone using speech recognition and speech synthesis technology to simplify telephone communication. All you do is speak a prestored name into the receiver to dial a phone number. It memorizes up to 100 names and their respective telephone numbers after being “taught” their “voice prints.” Other features include the ability to access a series of numbers sequentially for dialing a computer service, home banking, etc. It boasts a security function to prevent children or unauthorized persons from accessing the directory and this same function may be used to prevent any calls from being made except to the Police and Doctor. To learn more about the Voice Dialer which sells for $206.00 including shipping and handling, contact Speaking Devices Corporation, 2086-C Walsh Ave., Santa Clara, CA 95050. Tel. (408) 727-5571. Correction: The address for Ann Morris Enterprises, Inc. was listed incorrectly in the November/December Braille Forum. The correct address is: Ann Morris Enterprises, Inc. 26 Horseshoe Lane Levittown, NY 11758 Tel. (516) 796-4938 ***** ** ACB Officers * President LeRoy Saunders P. O. Box 24020 Oklahoma City, OK 73124 * First Vice President Paul Edwards 170 N.E. 123rd Street North Miami, FL 33161 * Second Vice President Charles Hodge 1131 S. Forest Drive Arlington, VA 22204 * Secretary Patricia Price Riley Tower 2, Apt. 2102 600 N. Alabama Street Indianapolis, IN 46204 * Treasurer Brian Charlson 57 Grandview Avenue Watertown, MA 02172 ###