Outreach Worker Handbook

Congratulations. The American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults has chosen you as a volunteer outreach worker. You have demonstrated both a willingness and a capacity to serve the blind, the deaf-blind, and the newly blind. As an outreach worker, you will encounter an almost endless variety of individuals and situations. This handbook was written to outline your responsibilities and provide guidelines. The suggestions it contains are meant to get you started—not to limit the scope of your activities.

The American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults is a dynamic organization. Its free nationwide services were created to help meet the needs of the blind for education and self-fulfillment. Our nationwide corps of outreach workers is constantly adding to the scope and depth of our services as it encounters blind people in every area of the country and helps them solve problems.

GETTING STARTED

You have already become familiar with the work the American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults is doing. You have read our publications, trained under the supervision of the Executive Director, and met with dozens of blind people in your community. Now it is time for you to compile and evaluate your local and national resources.

Look closely at each area of American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults service. Make a list of local resources which complement the things we are doing. Where are the gaps? What do you need to know to help blind people get the most complete and accurate picture of their options? Who can help? Are there local service agencies, self-help organizations, or others with whom you can cooperate? In other words, know the territory.

As you learn more about available resources, you will also learn about unmet needs. Make careful notes about your observations so that you may bring them to the attention of the Executive Director. As an outreach worker, you have prime responsibility for helping the agency expand its services and to ensure that those services are tailored to meet specific local needs. But you are not working in isolation. The Executive Director is available to work with you at any time. The things you are doing in your locality will complement the work of other American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults outreach workers. By coordinating what you are doing with the Executive Director, you will make the most efficient use of our nationwide assets. Our resources are limited; we should use them wisely.

INFORMATION AND REFERRAL

You represent the American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults in your locality. Therefore, the public has a right to expect that you will have the most current information possible concerning blindness, its problems, and methods of coping with it. You should become thoroughly knowledgeable, but you should never forget that you are part of a nationwide team. The staff at our National Office (1800 Johnson Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21230) and your outreach worker colleagues from around the country stand ready to assist you at any time. Remember that knowing how to find an answer may be more valuable in the long run than knowing that answer.

Be alert for information to pass along to the Executive Director or to other outreach workers. The work you do may serve as a model for future projects. If you fail to share it with others, your modesty will not be a virtue.

Providing information and referral service to the public means more than supplying a list of service agencies. Sometimes the question you are asked may require you to do research. Often, it will lead to other questions. For example, a caller who asks you for the address of the nearest dog guide training school may be a newly blind person who would also benefit from having the address of the local library for the blind. The caller may not have asked for the address because he or she did not know there was any service for blind people except dog guide training.

You should be quick to provide the information requested, but you should not hesitate to expand upon it or to search for other ways to be of assistance.

PUBLIC EDUCATION ABOUT BLINDNESS

Everything the American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults does is related to our ability to inform the public about blindness and about the services we offer. You are called an outreach worker for a very good reason. You are expected actively to seek ways to tell the public about the abilities and aspirations of the blind. Throughout this handbook you will see references to community contacts and public education.

As a general guideline, you should attempt to provide information about the American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults to three new organizations each week. Sometimes you will be asked to make presentations before groups. At other times your contacts will be made over the telephone or through the mail. You should choose the public education method which suits your skills the best. Remember, without a good public education program, the services of the American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults will not attain the effectiveness they could have.

INFORMATION FOR NEWLY BLIND OLDER PEOPLE

Most of the fifty thousand Americans who become blind every year are sixty years of age or older. Though they constitute the majority of the blind, they receive a small fraction of service dollars expended on the blind each year. There are several reasons for this inequitable service delivery. Among the most important is that many older people lack information about what is available. The American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults, through outreach workers like you, helps fill the information void for newly blind older people.

You can start by seeing to it that our book, A Handbook for Senior Citizens: Rights, Resources and Responsibilities, is in every library in your community. It should also be on the bookshelf of every senior center, nursing home, and information and referral service. Once you have accomplished this objective, you will find that your work is just beginning. The book is intended for a nationwide audience. It is your task to supplement the data it contains with local resource lists.

The best way to build these lists is to meet and talk with as many older people, service agencies for the elderly, and service agencies for the blind as possible.

Does your community have congregate meal programs where older people get together for lunch and a recreational or instructional seminar? Perhaps you can speak about blindness to these groups.

Is there an organization which delivers meals to homebound people? Perhaps the volunteers who distribute the food can help you make contact with the blind people they serve.

Is there a visiting nurses program in your community? They undoubtedly work with blind people and would be glad for any assistance you can provide.

Does your local private agency for the blind have a training or recreation program for senior citizens? A visit would familiarize you with its services.

Does the state rehabilitation agency for the blind have teachers who visit the homes of the elderly to help them learn to cope with blindness? If you know the agency's eligibility and referral requirements, as well as the scope of their services, the information will be important for the newly blind elderly people you meet.

Does the library for the blind in your state have special outreach services for the elderly? Let the local special needs librarian know about the American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults and offer to assist in finding people who need the library.

Are there blind people living in nursing homes in your community? It is estimated that at least four percent of all nursing home residents are blind. Most facilities would be glad to have someone provide an in-service training workshop on blindness for the staff.

Have older residents of your community formed self-help organizations? It is likely that your local chapter of the American Association for Retired Persons (AARP) or a similar group would be glad to have you speak at a meeting.

The list of possibilities is virtually endless. Use your imagination to develop those ideas which will work best in your area. Keep the Executive Director informed. Other American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults outreach workers will want to duplicate your successes.

TWIN VISION® BOOKS AND LENDING LIBRARY

Each year the Kenneth Jernigan Library for Blind Children lends children's books to families, schools, and libraries across the country. You can help see to it that these books reach the widest possible audience. You can also work with the Executive Director, library staff, and your colleagues around the country to help build the collection and spread the word about the free library services.

Is there a program for blind students in the public schools of your town? Be sure that the teachers know about the library and are acquainted with Twin Vision® books. The same is true of the residential school in your state.

Do you know blind parents of young sighted children? They will appreciate knowing about our library. Don't forget grandparents, aunts, uncles, and blind babysitters. Reading aloud with a child can be a door to deeper friendship and communication. You can help open that door.

Are you acquainted with local Braille transcribers? They would probably be delighted to Braille books for our library. If you don't know any transcribers, you could be instrumental in getting a group started.

Does a local service club want to do something nice for blind children? You could suggest that they donate print books that could be made into Twin Vision® books and placed in our library.

“GREAT DOCUMENTS SERIES”

The “Great Documents Series” was designed to help older readers learn about American history. It is a specialized part of our library service which should be of interest to blind people in junior high or beyond. Teachers in civics classes will be glad to have this series for their blind students. You can also use the “Great Documents Series” as a vehicle for publicizing the work of the American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults, especially on Independence Day or other patriotic holidays.

“THE SHAPE OF THINGS”

“The Shape of Things” series is another specialized part of our Twin Vision® program. Blind children, like their sighted peers, want to learn about everything from dinosaurs to musical instruments. The raised illustrations which were developed for “The Shape of Things” series help them do that and much more. Blind children are excited about showing their “pictures” to sighted friends. Sighted children begin to understand that picture books are fun for blind kids, too. The series is another excellent public education tool.

BRAILLE CALENDARS

The American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults distributes thousands of pocket Braille calendars each year. From the letters we receive, it is clear that blind people like them. Each fall you should order a supply of calendars for distribution locally. Use the distribution of calendars as an opportunity to touch base with the blind people in your area. Is there any way in which the American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults can be of help to them?

Don't underestimate the importance of this seemingly small service. Remember, you may be the one who gives a blind person the only calendar he or she receives next year.

“HOT-LINE” AND OTHER SPECIAL SERVICES TO THE DEAF-BLIND

People who are both deaf and blind are frequently isolated from others. Though there are more than twenty different methods for communicating with someone who is deaf-blind, most people would feel inadequate if asked to do so.

Lack of contact unnecessarily imposes severe loneliness and isolation. There is no area of American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults outreach which has as much human value as our involvement with deaf-blind people.

Your first task is to learn something about communication methods.

Deaf-blind people use a number of methods to communicate with others. In fact, most deaf-blind people use more than one method and can switch easily between communication methods.

Professionals in work with the blind make unreasonable distinctions between those who were born blind and those who became blind later in life. Professionals in work with the deaf make similar distinctions, but they may have some more justification in doing so. The real issue for the deaf is not when hearing was lost; the real issue has to do with whether English or American Sign Language is the primary language. American Sign Language is not simply English expressed through movement. It is a complex language with its own idioms, grammar, and syntax. The thought patterns for Sign Language and English are different, and someone who is fluent in both is truly bilingual.

The manual alphabet is a bridge between American Sign Language and English. It is a series of hand motions which depict print letters. In some instances, the fingers are positioned to resemble print letters. Other letters are formed by arbitrary hand positions which bear no resemblance at all to print letters. The basics of the alphabet can be learned in a few hours. It takes a good deal of practice to develop speed. Letters are "read" by placing the hand of the deaf-blind person over the hand of the person making the letters. It's possible to communicate at a speed similar to that used in shorthand dictation. An interpreter must summarize speeches, lectures, and ordinary conversation. Even so, the manual alphabet can be one of the quickest and most versatile communication methods for a deaf-blind person.

Some deaf-blind people have been deaf from birth and became blind as teenagers or adults. They prefer the sign language used by deaf people. Instead of watching the hands and arms of friends, they touch the person making the signs to learn what is being said. It is usually necessary to restrict the movements involved in making signs so that a deaf-blind person can follow along conveniently. This method can lead to confusion, and it requires the speaker to have extensive training in sign language. However, it is possible to interpret everything that is said as quickly as English is spoken using this method.

Many deaf-blind people also use a device known as the Tellatouch. It is portable and weighs less than four pounds. It consists of a small typewriter keyboard which the person doing the communicating uses to pass on information. There is also a Braille keyboard which can be used by an interpreter who prefers to write in Braille. The deaf-blind person sits opposite the interpreter and places a finger on a small Braille "screen." Each letter that is typed or Brailled appears briefly under the finger of the deaf-blind person. The letter can be felt as long as the interpreter holds down the key. Only one letter can be felt at a time. Fifty words per minute is nearly the maximum speed of the device since going faster causes the keys to jam. The chief advantage of the Tellatouch is that it allows people who have no specialized training to communicate quickly with deaf-blind individuals.

There is now a computerized version of the Tellatouch, known as the TellaBraille, which can be used for face-to-face communication and as a telecommunications device for the deaf over the telephone. It is extremely expensive and is used by a very small number of people because of its cost.

There are a number of ingenious methods by which the deaf-blind communicate with the general public. Some deaf-blind people wear a glove with letters and numbers printed on it. Words are spelled by touching the appropriate letters. The deaf-blind person can tell which letters are meant by knowing which part of the hand was touched. For instance, if the "q" is printed on the wrist of the glove and the "u" is printed on the end of the thumb, the deaf-blind person would know that a touch to the wrist followed immediately by a touch to the thumb means that a word is being spelled which includes the letters "qu." The deaf-blind person must remember where each letter appears on the glove in order to interpret the touches correctly. This is a cumbersome communication method, but it works well when no other method is available.

It is also possible to communicate with deaf-blind people by tracing the shapes of block letters on the palm of their hand with an index finger. Capital letters should be printed and cursive writing should be avoided. This is a very slow communication method and is usually used for very short messages.

A few deaf-blind people use a method called Tadoma. Tadoma is lip reading by touch. It is not very popular because it is hard to do and not very accurate. It also makes people uncomfortable to have someone feeling their lips and vocal cords while they speak.

A number of deaf-blind individuals have become amateur radio operators. They communicate in Morse code using equipment which vibrates instead of clicking. Since other amateur radio operators also use Morse code, deaf-blind operators can compete on terms of absolute equality. These are just a few of the communication methods used by deaf-blind people. Most deaf-blind people are fairly inventive when they want to converse. Some speak understandably. Others need to find a way to make themselves understood as well as to understand what is being said to them.

You will not need to be fluent in American Sign Language to work with deaf-blind people. You will be more effective if you are at ease using the manual alphabet, the Tellatouch, print-on-palm, or some direct communication method. It is perfectly appropriate to work with an interpreter to speed communication, but the more you can personalize your contact with deaf-blind people, the better it will be.

Where are the deaf-blind people in your area? Start with schools for the deaf or blind. There are usually classes for deaf-blind children and young adults under age twenty-one at these schools. The schools will not give you names, but most program administrators will be willing to let students know about you.

What about deaf-blind adults? Organizations of the deaf exist in almost every medium-size or larger city. Contact them and ask to attend a meeting. You will probably need help interpreting the meeting, since it will usually be conducted in American Sign Language. Don't let this discourage you. Organizations of the deaf are interested in public education, and they will welcome the contact from you. As you develop a working relationship you will learn about people in the deaf community who have become blind.

Once you have found deaf-blind people, you will have no trouble discovering a need for our services. In fact, your major difficulty will be choosing which urgent need you will meet. Talk to the Executive Director about proposed projects. The American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults may be able to coordinate and direct additional resources to you for specific projects. The Executive Director counts on you to assess local needs. Use every avenue of information you can find. Deaf-blind people themselves will be your best teachers and will help you decide what your highest priority should be.

The American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults is committed to helping deaf-blind people get the information they need to take part in society. Hot-Line to Deaf-Blind is published by the American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults every week. It is a summary of the most current news stories. Unlike other Braille periodicals, it does not include commentary—"just the facts." Any deaf-blind person may receive a free subscription to Hot-Line.

In the rush to do ordinary daily tasks, friends and relatives often neglect to inform deaf-blind individuals about current events. This seems like a small thing, but it is not. It can lead to misunderstandings and to an increased sense of isolation.

One example illustrates the point. One deaf-blind woman did not know that America had a space program until Apollo XI landed on the moon. Naturally, she thought the person who casually mentioned the moon walk to her was either crazy or making a bad joke at her expense. It is not hard to see why Hot-Line is deeply appreciated by so many deaf-blind people.

American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults workers do other things to enhance opportunities for the deaf-blind. They often act as interpreters at meetings, medical appointments, social gatherings, and other activities. As funds permit, the American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults can provide guides/interpreters to assist deaf-blind individuals in specific projects.

SCHOLARSHIPS

The American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults offers a variety of scholarships to outstanding students each year. The Ezra Davis Memorial Scholarship ($12,000) is given annually to the nation's most outstanding blind college student.

The American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults gives other scholarships to students whose academic excellence is beyond doubt but who would have trouble receiving financial assistance for some other reason.

College is not the only place for a blind or a deaf-blind individual to gain valuable educational experiences. As funds permit, the American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults provides scholarships to assist individuals in furthering their educational or occupational interests outside of the traditional academic setting. Since funds for this program are limited, preference is given to deaf-blind persons. This program can also be used to help pay guides/interpreters for deaf-blind people who wish to attend seminars or other training workshops. When you learn of a blind or deaf-blind person in need of scholarship assistance, contact the Executive Director.

EDUCATION OF BLIND CHILDREN

Because of your work with the Twin Vision® Library, you're in a unique position to help blind children and their parents.

Are you familiar with the provisions of the "Individuals with Disablities Education Act"? If so, you can help teach parents about their child's rights and act as an advocate at meetings with school district officials. Contact the Executive Director if you need more specialized technical assistance in this area.

Were you blind when you were going through the educational system, or do you know others who were? You can help parents understand what they have a right to expect and what their child's future may hold.

Are you familiar with sources of reading material beyond those provided by the American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults? You can help parents learn of these resources so that blind children will know the joy of reading and have the widest possible choice of books.

EDUCATION OF SIGHTED CHILDREN ABOUT BLINDNESS

Children are curious about the world around them. If those children are sighted, it is natural that they will want to know about blindness. The American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults believes that it is important to help children get a positive and accurate understanding of blindness before their attitudes are completely formed and become difficult to change.

Questions Kids Ask About Blindness was written to give children basic information. Outreach workers can use this book as the basis for an ongoing education program in local school districts.

Does your school library actively search for books to add to its collection? If it does, you can let the library collection development committee read Questions Kids Ask About Blindness.

Does your school system teach a unit about handicapped individuals? If so, teachers may be delighted to have a speaker who can talk about blindness. You can coordinate a speaker's bureau of blind people who can visit schools and talk with children.

ADVOCACY AND PROTECTION OF CIVIL RIGHTS

All Americans are affected by the actions our government takes. However, blindness entitles individuals to participate in certain government programs. As a result, people who are blind feel the impact of government actions more directly. Blind people simply need to know more about government than their sighted neighbors.

American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults outreach workers are frequently called upon to teach blind people how to make public programs work for them. Outreach philosophy is a paraphrase of Gandhi's philosophy: "If you give me a fish, I will eat for a day. If you teach me to fish, I'll eat for a lifetime." Your job is to teach blind people to "fish" for themselves.

To further this self-help objective, the American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults sponsors seminars and encourages self-organization among the blind. You may be called upon to plan and conduct seminars on Social Security law, rehabilitation theory and practice, or nondiscrimination statutes. The Executive Director can help you find additional resource people to take part in these seminars.

SOCIAL SECURITY

Social Security law has become so complex that the people responsible for administering it are often unaware of its less commonly used provisions. Blind applicants for Social Security benefits are often misinformed by well-meaning Social Security employees who mistakenly believe that the rules for the blind are the same as the rules for the other disabled. As an outreach worker, you can assist blind individuals and your local Social Security office by becoming thoroughly knowledgeable about the special rules for the blind. The Executive Director will furnish you with all the material you need to educate yourself about Social Security.

Social Security employees are anxious to provide good service to the blind. They often wonder where to refer blind people who come to them needing retraining and encouragement. By making contact with people in your local Social Security office, you can find blind people and help the Social Security Administration serve them better.

REHABILITATION

Federal rehabilitation laws are implemented in various ways by the states. Your state rehabilitation agency operates under rules and regulations which have been adopted through the state's administrative procedures. These regulations have been published in a manual which is used by agency administrators and employees. You should become thoroughly familiar with the basic provisions of the manual, though you may not need to know all of the administrative detail. Once you understand the procedure yourself, you can begin teaching it to blind people in your community.

Sometimes American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults workers are called upon to assist rehabilitation clients in developing and implementing an individualized plan for their training. The Executive Director should be contacted if you need specialized technical assistance in this area.

EMPLOYMENT

More than two-thirds of blind Americans of working age are unemployed. This is not, as the public so often believes, because the blind are unable to work. It is because misunderstandings about blindness are widespread in our society. It is not surprising that blind people often share public misconceptions about their own potential.

American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults outreach workers are experienced in using alternative techniques of blindness. You can use this experience to teach and encourage blind people in your community. You can help develop specific alternative techniques that a blind person can use on a specific job. You can inform blind job seekers about services available to them, both within and outside of government.

You can contact employers and tell them about the abilities of blind workers. You can help conduct workshops for employers to introduce them to blind job applicants. You can coordinate your work with that of public and private organizations in your community. You can share the results of these activities with the Executive Director and your fellow American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults outreach workers.

SPECIALIZED AIDS AND APPLIANCES

You should become familiar with specialized aids and appliances used by blind people in daily life. You may be called upon to demonstrate and to teach their use.

As funds permit, the American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults makes such aids and appliances available free to blind people who cannot afford them. You should be alert to such situations and bring them to the attention of the Executive Director along with your recommendations.

New items are being developed all of the time. As you become aware of them, you should pass along that information. From time to time, you may be called upon to evaluate a new device to determine its usefulness for blind people.

LOANS AND FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE

The American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults operates a program of providing low-interest loans to blind people wishing to go into business or to purchase equipment to retain or enhance their employment opportunities. Any blind person may apply. Applications should be submitted to the Executive Director. You should work with blind people in your community who seek loans and contact the Executive Director for specific instructions in each case. Remember, these are loans; they are not grants.

Under certain circumstances, the American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults can make grants to fill individual needs. Because you are knowledgeable about your community, your recommendations may often be sought when a request is received from your locality. Because financial resources of the American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults are limited, you should help the blind people with whom you are working make the fullest possible use of all available resources. The American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults exists to help blind people. However, the red tape in other programs should not be permitted to stifle blind people's aspirations.

CONCLUSION

These pages have outlined a very ambitious program of service to the blind and the deaf-blind. Clearly, there is more work to do than any one person can hope to accomplish.

You have the exciting opportunity of representing the American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults and structuring our services in your community. Your creativity and pioneering spirit will make our programs more innovative and effective.

The Executive Director will supervise and support you as you translate the ideals of the American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults into practical action. You should never hesitate to seek guidance on any question. You should also never hesitate to try new ideas. This organization is dynamic. That means that the scope of our services in the future will be largely shaped by the actions you and your colleagues around the country take today.