One agency in every state of the country has primary responsibility for providing rehabilitation service to the blind. You will note that the names of the agencies vary a great deal from state-to-state. Their structure is also very different from one state to the next. In a few states there is a separate rehabilitation agency for the blind (Commission for the Blind). directly responsible to the Governor, the Legislature and the blind of the state. In this situation the administrator of the agency serving the blind has responsibility to direct programs and staff for provision of several kinds of services. In other states services for the blind (services for the visually impaired or visually handicapped are included here) are provided by a department within a larger agency, such as the Department of Education, the Department of Social Services, or the Department of Human Resources. In this case there will generally be one administrator over services for the blind, but he or she will be responsible to higher-ranking officials in the department. A third arrangement that exists in some states is that services for the blind are mixed in with services to people with other needs. There may be a department of vocational rehabilitation which must serve the mentally ill, the physically handicapped, individuals with drug or alcohol problems, the blind, and numerous other groups. In this case, it is often very difficult for a blind individual to find the services he or she really needs. No one can be expert enough in all areas to serve all clients well. Nevertheless, you have to make the best of whatever services are available in your state. If there is a special office or agency for the blind, you can learn about services available by going there, or telephoning and talking to a counselor or a rehabilitation teacher. If there is not a special office or agency for the blind, you will need to telephone or go to an office of the general rehabilitation agency and talk to a counselor or rehabilitation teacher.
In some states the rehabilitation agency makes an arrangement with a private agency to provide some services to blind individuals. This may slow down the service, but you are still entitled to it. This is one reason why you may find several agencies for the blind listed in the phone book and you may hear of several from other sources. It means you may need to deal with more than one agency to get the service you need. For example, you may be able to get cane travel and Braille lessons from a teacher at one agency and you may need to buy Braille writing equipment or a watch from a different agency. In any case, a counselor or a rehabilitation teacher should be able to give you advice about where to get the things you need.
In the past, rehabilitation agencies have been required to give much more service to blind persons who are seeking jobs than those who are not. However, recently the U.S. Government has taken note that elderly blind Americans also need services. The 1978 Amendments to the Rehabilitation Act provide that states can set up special service programs for the elderly blind, and some states provided limited services before that. Title 20 to the Social Security Act has been funded and provides additional services to the bind either through the rehabilitation agency for the blind or through the state agency on aging. It is certainly the policy of our government to assist older Americans who are blind, although it is sometimes difficult to find out exactly how and where to get a specific service.
Obtaining money for the operation of rehabilitation programs for elderly blind persons is happening very slowly. Since the law provides that this should happen and since rehabilitation agencies generally understand that elderly blind individuals need service, you should be able to arrange for a rehabilitation teacher or a counselor to come to your home and talk with you about blindness. This person will be bale to make suggestions about methods to use in your home. A rehabilitation teacher should be able to give you some help to learn Braille, if indeed you wish it. It may be that the teacher or counselor will only be able to get you started. It should be possible for you to arrange for someone from the rehabilitation agency to give you a few lessons in can travel.
It would be helpful if teachers and counselors from rehabilitation agencies could always be relied upon to encourage a blind individual to seek self-reliance and independence. Unfortunately, this may or may not be the case. Rehabilitation teachers and counselors working for agencies serving the blind have a variety of different notions about what are realistic and proper goals for blind clients. Some will encourage you to do the things you want to do on your own. Others will encourage you not to. Therefore, our advice is that you work with the rehabilitation teacher or counselor sent to you for a couple of lessons. If he or she is helpful, say so and urge him or her to return. If the teacher or counselor seems to indicate that you should limit your activities, see if you can get in touch with the Chapter of the organization of the blind that is nearest you. Members of an organization of the blind are not likely to discourage you. (For more information about organizations of the blind, see Chapter 10.)
Rehabilitation agencies should also be able to give you information about where to obtain any special devices you need, such as Braille watches, decks of cards that have been Brailled, and other table games.
Braille is a system of reading and writing by touch used by the blind. It consists of arrangements of dots which make up letters of the alphabet, numbers, and punctuation marks. The basic Braille symbol is called the Braille cell and consists of six dots arranged in the formation of a rectangle, three dots high and two across. Other symbols consist of only some of these six dots. The six dots are commonly referred to by number according to there position in the cell:
There are no different symbols for capital letters in Braille. Capitalization is accomplished by placing a dot 6 in the cell just before the letter that is capitalized. The first ten letters of the alphabet are used to make numbers. These are proceeded by a number sign which is dots 3-4-5-6:
Thus 1 is number sign a; 2 is number sign b; 10 is number sign a-j and 156 is number sign a-e-f:
Some abbreviations are used in standard American Braille in order to reduce it's bulk. You will need to learn these abbreviations if you wish to read books and magazines in Braille. Some people who lose their sight at retirement age or later, find Braille a challenge and enjoy it. However, many people who become blind late in life learn no Braille at all, still others learn the Braille alphabet, but do not learn the signs. These people are able to keep notes (telephone numbers, recipes, a register of checks written, etc.) in Braille, but they do not read books or magazines. It is possible to live an active, productive life, without using Braille at all. However, if you are interested in Braille, you may find it useful.
Since you are probably not accustomed to using your hands in the way that is necessary to read and write Braille, your progress will seem slow at first. Don't worry about it and become tense. You can feel these dots better if you slide you fingers lightly across them. The more tense you are and the harder you push down with the fingertips, the more difficult it is for you to feel the dots. Do not expect to learn the whole alphabet in one day. You didn't learn to read print in a day. It was probably several years from the time you recognized your first letter until you read a book comfortably. It will not take you as long to learn Braille, since you already know how to spell and read. Probably, learning the symbols will not be as difficult as learning to use your fingers in a new way. This is normal. Most people spend a lot of time and energy making excuses for their difficulties when no excuses are necessary. There are several series of Braille lessons available and the rehabilitation teacher will recommend one for you to use. If you find that you are not enjoying your work in Braille but wish to read and write some, you will be bale to do this after learning the letters of the alphabet. Since Braille numbers are made from the first ten letters of the alphabet, this helps with recipes, books and magazines without knowing the Braille signs, anything you write that does not make use of the signs is clear to you and any other Braille reader. Therefore, some people who lose their sight late in life do learn the Braille alphabet and use it, but don't continue with the rest of the Braille system.
It is not necessary to develop a great deal of speed in reading and writing in order to use Braille effectively. Experienced Braille readers may read Braille at 300 or 400 words per minute and some people who learn Braille late in life obtain good reading speed. In order to develop reading speed it is necessary first to learn the entire Braille system, then to read for a least and hour or two every day for a period if months. If you enjoy Braille, you may with to do this. It is entirely up to you.
Braille is written on heavy paper, and the raised dots prevent the pages from lying smoothly together as they would in print books. Therefore, Braille books are quite bulky.
There are three methods of writing Braille. A Braille writing machine (comparable to a typewriter) has a keyboard of only six keys (one key for each dot of the Braille cell) and a space bar, instead of one key for each letter of the alphabet. These keys can be pushed separately or all together. If they are all pushed at the same time they will cause six dots to be raised on the paper in the formation of a Braille cell. Pushing various combinations of the keys on the Braille writer produces different letters of the alphabet and other Braille symbols. The Braille writer is expensive and for many people it is more practical to write Braille with a slate and stylus.
Writing Braille with a slate and stylus compares to writing print with a pen or pencil. The stylus is used to push dots down through the paper, while the slate serves as a guide. The Braille slate can be made of metal or plastic and is hinged so that there is a guide under the paper and on top of it. A person writing Braille begins at the right side of the paper and ends on the left, since the dots are being produced on the underside of the paper. Of course, the Braille reader reads from left to right, for the dots are then on the top side of the paper. This is not the least bit confusing, since both reading and writing progress through words and sentences from beginning to end in the same manner. The speed of writing Braille with the slate and stylus is about the same as the speed of writing print with a pen or pencil.
You will find it helpful to think of writing the Braille letters in the first and second sides of the cell: thus, A is the top dot in the first side of the cell; C is the top dot in the first side of the cell and the top dot in the second side of the cell; Q is all of the dots except the bottom dot in the second side of the cell. The slate and stylus is inexpensive, lightweight and portable so that you can carry it in your pocket or handbag. Most people who do not intend to do a great deal of writing will use the slate and stylus.
The third method of writing Braille is by use of a computer with accessible output connected to a Braille embosser. Braille was first developed about 1820 by a young Frenchman named Louis Braille. He created Braille by modifying a system of night writing which was intended for use on board ships. He did this work as a very young man and had it complete by the time he was about 18. He and his friends at the school for the blind he attended found that reading and writing dots was much faster than reading raised print letters which could not be written by hand at all. The invention of this system by young Louis Braille is now recognized as the most important single factor in making it possible for the blind to get a good education.
It took more than a century, however, before people would accept Braille as an excellent way for the blind to read and write. Even today many people underestimate the effectiveness of Braille. While tapes and records are enjoyable, Braille is useful for note-taking and helpful for studying such things as math, spelling, and foreign languages.
Even if you do not wish to read books in Braille, you may wish to learn the first ten letters of the alphabet (which double as numbers) and a few additional symbols that are used on a deck of Braille cards. The numbers 1 through 9 are shown by the letters A through I. Ten may be written AJ or X. J stands for jack, Q for queen , K for king, and JO for joker. The four suits are shown by the letters C, D, H, and S. AH is the ace of Hearts; QD is the queen of Diamonds; JS is the jack of Spades; XC is the ten of Clubs. The system is simple. At first using Braille cards will seem slow, but keep at it. If you have enjoyed playing cards in the past, you probably will continue to do so.
You can obtain sets of checkers, chess, monopoly, cribbage, scrabble, and other games that have been adapted for use by the blind. In the case of checkers and chess, it is not necessary to know any Braille at all in order to use the Braille sets, since the pieces are shaped differently so that the blind person can distinguish one color from the other. The boards are also adapted so that the pieces are not easily pushed out of place when the blind person uses his or her hands to find the location of the various pieces.
If you still have some usable vision it is possible to obtain playing cards with large numerals on them and there may be other devices that you should know about. Rehabilitation staff members may also be able to teach new computer users how to use the software and the hardware or they will know where to find this instruction.
There are numerous kinds of magnifying devices on the market. If you have usable vision and wish to read print with a magnifier you should discuss this with a counselor or rehabilitation teacher from the agency serving the blind. He or she may be able to bring a few such devices to your home so that you can try them out and make some judgment about what will be best for you. The counselor or rehabilitation teacher should have a good bit of experience in helping partially sighted individuals find magnifiers that are appropriate. Magnifiers are available from several commercial sources. If you decide to shop for your own magnifier, you should be careful that the degree of enlargement of print is the same in all parts of the glass. Sometimes the lighting is as important as the enlargement of the print. Some magnifiers are very expensive, while others cost only a few dollars. It is not necessarily true that the more expensive ones will be best for you. Therefore, we urge you to consult with your counselor or rehabilitation teacher before purchasing a magnifier.
If you have lost enough vision that you find it necessary to use a magnifier in order to read print, it is time to think of other ways to read that do not require using your eyes. The next chapter will discuss materials available on records and tapes and you have already learned a little about Braille. Some materials are available in large print. We urge you to make use of all that is available to you. There is no point in using a laborious process to read if you could read the same material more conveniently using another method. There will probably be times when using a magnifier is most convenient. Many people with limited vision make use of some sort of magnifier for reading mail and paying bills. They prefer to do this in order to handle those things themselves. These same people may read the Reader's Digest in large print and books which have been recorded on records and tapes. Many blind people have a little bit of vision and use it for some purposes while using techniques that do not require vision for other activities.
MYTH: Rehabilitation agencies for the blind do not serve persons who are not looking for a job.
FACT: Rehabilitation agencies for the blind have experience working with blind persons and employ staff to teach skills that the blind need to use. In addition, they provide information about techniques for the blind and blindness to persons who need both.
EXAMPLE: Mrs. Stone is 65-years-old and ready to retire from her job as a veterinarian. She is legally blind and has not been driving her car for the past year. Since she has been a veterinarian for many years, she felt able to continue working until she became 65 in spite of greatly reduced vision, and therefore, she has not really thought a great deal about blindness. She does not regard herself as blind.
Nevertheless, Mrs. Stone decided to learn about services and activities that might interest her after retirement. She went to see a counselor at the rehabilitation agency for the blind. Mrs. Stone learned that she could purchase a Braille watch from this agency and she did so. She found this watch very useful, since it had become very difficult for her to see her old one. Mrs. Stone asked whether the agency could help her get a dog, and she was told that it could put her in touch with a school that would help her get a dog, but that the agency could also help her travel independently with a white cane if she would prefer this. Mrs. Stone took the cane travel lessons and became an independent traveler—using city buses, etc.
The rehabilitation counselor also gave Mrs. Stone some tapes that told her about other people. He encouraged her to look for ways to do whatever she wanted to do. Mrs. Stone was extremely glad she made the trip to the rehabilitation agency and began to feel much more optimistic about her retirement.
When Mrs. Stone heard from a friend in another state that he was losing his eyesight, she told him how helpful the rehabilitation counselor had been to her. Her friend tried contacting the rehabilitation agency in his state, but after his visit he wrote to Mrs. Stone to say that the trip was as waste of time because the rehabilitation counselor seemed to feel that blindness would prevent all interesting and productive activities. Of course, Mrs. Stone responded by sending her friend the tapes she had received from her rehabilitation counselor. He found these encouraging and helpful. She also suggested to her friend that he look for other agencies in his state that serve blind persons, which he did.
Other computerized devices may not be adapted for the blind as well as personal computers. Some appliances around the home such as VCR players, DVD players, microwaves, answering machines, etc. may be equipped with visual displays which cannot be adapted for use by the blind. When purchasing these devices, a blind or visually impaired person should look carefully at the controls. Some of them can be marked with tape, Hi-Marks, or Braille but some really cannot be made accessible.
Some automatic bank teller machines (ATMs) and voting machines are now equipped with voice output. This may be an important consideration in choosing your bank. Every precinct should be equipped with a talking voting machine by the year 2007. Do not hesitate to ask which machine can talk.
New technology is making many activities more convenient for Americans. This is true for the blind, just as for everyone else. It is important to keep in touch with organizations of and for the blind to be aware of changes as they occur. Sometimes the new media report these developments as well, but we cannot count on it. Most of us will live to see more new devices which will be of interest to some of us. It is hard to predict precisely how easily the blind will be able to use new devices, but in time they will be made accessible if they become popular in our society.
MYTH: Blind people cannot use computers, but must depend on friends and family.
FACT: More and more blind people are learning about computers using them for many different purposes.
EXAMPLE: Margaret wished to write a book. She purchased a computer and then tried to make it talk. This became an expensive effort, but she finally succeeded in getting the right equipment and learning to use it. Margaret wrote several chapters of her book. Then she went to an exhibition of computer equipment for the blind and discovered a device called "Type and Speak". This device consisted of a standard keyboard with voice output. It was equipped with a word processing program and cost about 25% of what Margaret had paid for the equipment she was using. Learning to use it also would have been much simpler than what Margaret did. She said to her friends: "Why didn't somebody tell me about this machine two or three years ago?" Careful planning and consultation may help some people avoid Margaret's situation.
Some agencies for the blind have classes or group activities involving handicrafts and recreation. If you are in a locality where these exist, you may wish to participate in them. However, you can and should continue to participate in activities at your church, in senior citizens groups, in any other organization to which you belong and, of course, with your friends and families. Blind people can participate in almost any activity in the community, and you should not feel uncomfortable about doing so. Some people will offer help you do not need, and others may avoid you because they are uncomfortable about blindness. We have already said that public attitudes about blindness cause blind people to be treated differently when it is not necessary. Nevertheless, it is possible to learn to accept this kind of behavior and not to let it upset you. As you learn to feel at ease and competent as a blind person, most people will be able to accept you for what you are. Sometimes the adjustment to public attitudes is the most difficult part of the adjustment to blindness.
Blind people have only one thing in common and that is blindness. You rehabilitation agency should be able to answer questions and offer advice about blindness and where to get the tools and training you need in order to make a good adjustment. It should not be expected or permitted to advise you about other things. Your interests, experience, and abilities are the same as they always have been. You may need to use different methods and tools and the agency can help you find out what these are and how to make use of them. You should continue to decide what you like to do, when you want to do it, and who you want to do it with.
For information about work that is being done by the blind as a group to improve opportunities and public understanding, see Chapter 10.