Oh! Say Can You See...Published by TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction The type size in this book is 14 Point for two important reasons: One, because typesetting of 14 Point or larger complies with federal standards for the printing of materials for visually impaired readers, and we wanted to show you exactly what type size is necessary for people with limited sight. The second reason is because many of our friends and supporters have asked us to print our paperback books in 14 Point type so they too can easily read them. Many people with limited sight do not use Braille. We hope that by printing this book in a larger type than customary, many more people will be able to benefit from it. INTRODUCTION This book is about blindness—what it means and what it does not mean; about services for blind people—what they are and where to find them; about skills of blindness—what they are used for and how to learn them; about the specialized tools blind people need— what exists and where to get it; about the American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults—what it is and what it does. This book is written to help blind people, their families, their friends, and their neighbors. Blind people. Who are they? The term is vague and impersonal, but that is only true until you know someone who is blind or deaf-blind—an individual to whom all of this matters—perhaps someone for whom specialized organizations and services may make the difference between merely existing and really living. Margaret Warren is one such person. She is both deaf and blind. In one sense her story is certainly not unique. There are about 40,000 deaf-blind people in the United States today, and parts of her life reflect each of theirs. But, of course, Margaret is also an individual—a warm and caring human being—one we think you would like to know. Therefore we introduce her to you here. We also introduce you to Dan Ryles through his mother Ruby. Dan is a teenager who was born totally blind. At age thirteen tragedy struck, and Dan suddenly began losing all of his hearing. Terror gripped the Ryles household. As you read the rest of this book, think about Margaret and Dan and others like them who are blind or both deaf and blind. If you are blind or are losing eyesight, or if you know someone who is, we can help. If you are sighted, the knowledge you gain from reading this book can help you to assist us in helping others. ABOUT THE COVER You must read Margaret Warren's story to understand it. Then, you'll never forget it. MARGARET WARREN—LIFE WITHOUT SIGHT AND SOUND Most of my childhood was spent in Council Bluffs, Iowa, where I was born in 1932. My mother was epileptic and was placed at Woodward, a state institution for those incapable of caring for themselves. My father left home. I have one brother but have lost contact with him. Another brother died when he was a little child. My childhood was somewhat sheltered. I was not allowed away from my relatives for fear I would be hurt. I went everywhere they went and could not participate in activities at home, like skating or swimming, because they were considered dangerous for me. I had a few playmates who came to play in our yard—mostly to swing. School began late for me. They tried to enter me in public school, but I couldn't see enough. I was enrolled at the Iowa Braille and Sight Saving School (then called the Iowa School for the Blind) in 1941. I loved school and was quite happy there. I was not popular with the students and had just a very few close friends. However, I had a very good standing with the school staff. Courses were about the same as in public school, plus music and industrial arts. We lived in dormitories under the care of house parents, then called matrons and supervisors. Boys and girls were separated, even in the dining rooms, but we did mingle in class. There were rules, but for the most part I didn't think they were too strict. We could go home for Thanksgiving and Easter if we wished, but all went home for Christmas and for the summer. I have many fond memories of Easters and Thanksgivings spent in the dormitory when there was no school. We could mingle with children from other dormitories, and we had a lot of fun together. I stayed at the school for ten years, then had to leave because my hearing loss became so bad that I could no longer follow classroom work. For the next three years I studied with the Hadley School for the Blind in Winnetka, Illinois, (a correspondence school) and was given credit by the Iowa Braille and Sight Saving School and graduated with the Class of 1954. After graduation I continued a few more studies with the Hadley School—Typing for Personal Use, Accident Prevention, and Independent Living Without Sight and Hearing. In June of 1951 (at age nineteen) I moved to a rest home with a very loving lady. Due to her health I had to leave in 1955 and moved to a rest home in another community. I was happy there until I lost the remainder of my hearing in 1963. Life got more difficult then, and it became necessary for me to go to Des Moines to the Iowa Home for the Sightless, where I could receive more individual attention and where I could get more help with my special needs. I stayed there until the home was closed in 1968 and then moved to Wesley Acres Retirement Home, where I still live. In 1966 I enrolled by correspondence in a course in Braille proofreading with the Library of Congress. I received my certification in 1968 and have been a Braille proofreader ever since. As much as possible, I try to be with people and do things that others do. I don't believe in isolating myself and feeling sorry for myself. I believe in participating normally in society and keep at it. This gets me in trouble sometimes because people think I'm being too pushy and want my own way. They'd rather plan things for me, and think I should be thankful for whatever they can do and not complain if it isn't suitable to me. That's the attitude some handicapped take and most of the public, but we are becoming more enlightened now and feel we have a right to independent thinking and activity. We do not want people to plan our lives for us and make decisions for us. I am a member of First United Methodist Church and attend Sunday School each Sunday morning. The lesson is translated to me on the Tellatouch. I do not get to worship services as often as I would like for lack of help in interpreting and getting home after services. On Sunday afternoons I go out with friends to do my shopping and have supper and sometimes other activities, like seeing the roses at Greenwood Park, the Lilacs at Ewing Park, a party or picnic, a church activity, bowling, or a tour of something; and now and then a trip to a nearby town to visit a friend. I am a member of the National Federation of the Blind and attend the local chapter meeting each month. Every year over Memorial Day weekend I attend the state convention. In July I attend the National Federation of the Blind Convention wherever it may be held. I most always travel there by plane. The American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults provides a guide and interpreter for me. Each year for a number of years I have been attending the Iowa State Fair. I find the Fair very interesting and informative, even though my friends say they don't. I see a lot of new things every year and learn about many things I did not have a chance to learn about before—things that other people just take for granted. I, of course, have fun also and enjoy foods I especially like. My home activities include corresponding with blind and deaf-blind people, reading, proofreading, handcraft (mostly leather craft), visiting with another deaf-blind lady, and of course keeping my room neat. I like to do things for others, and wish I could do more. In public service activities I manage a Braille correspondence club, am a member of a committee working on problems of the deaf-blind, and am coordinator for the deaf-blind for the local organization of blind people. I love humor and still love music even though I can no longer hear it. I like to sing the old-time songs that I used to know. Margaret Warren This, in her own words, is how Margaret describes her life; and, as you can see, she is an intelligent, unique individual with definite likes and dislikes, who happens to be deaf-blind. The deaf-blind are a segment of the population which has specialized needs but which receives very little attention. As Margaret mentioned in her story, she makes use of a Tellatouch machine to communicate with others. The Tellatouch is a portable device which weighs less than four pounds. It consists of a small typewriter keyboard, which the interpreter uses to pass on information. The deaf-blind person sits opposite the typist and places a finger on a small Braille "screen." Each letter that is typed appears in Braille on the "screen" and can be felt as long as the typist holds down the key. Only one letter can be felt at a time. Fifty words per minute is probably the maximum speed of the device. The chief advantage of the Tellatouch is that it allows people who have no specialized training to communicate quickly with the deaf-blind. With the help of friends and the American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults, Margaret remains active, and loves to do things to help others. For twenty years she has volunteered her time to read to the children at the Methodist Hill Children's Center in Des Moines. In 1989 Margaret and her interpreter (provided by the American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults) were nominated as the most outstanding volunteers by the Methodist Hill Children's Center. Margaret also visits schools and sets up deaf-blind awareness exhibits to help educate children and adults about the abilities and problems of the deaf-blind. In 1989 Margaret was told about a new surgery which might help restore some of her hearing. The American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults helped her gather information about the surgery. In the spring of 1990, with the financial assistance of the Action Fund, Margaret had Cochlear implant surgery. The surgery was done in more than one stage. Then Margaret needed to study and learn to interpret what she was hearing. The surgery was a partial success. She is able to hear some environmental sounds but is still unable to recognize speech. In a letter in April of 1991, Margaret says, "Monday night we had a severe thunderstorm, and I could hear the thunder. I have not heard thunder since 1962." In June, 1991, Margaret wrote, "Things are about the same with my implant. When I have access to them, I learn new environmental sounds, but no speech yet... Just can hear birds since they are back for the summer. Also, thunder when it is loud. I learned the typewriter bell in March. Had not been able to hear it until they reprogrammed my speech processor in March. It is not loud enough, and I would like it louder. I finally learned what that clicking sound in the car was. It happened last month in my interpreter's car, and I called it to her attention at once. When we got to our destination she informed me that it was the turn signal. Now when I hear it, I know what it means." (Incidentally, perhaps it occurs to you to wonder why Margaret's interpreter, Mary Ann, waited until they got to their destination to explain that the clicking sound was the turn signal. And then you realized—Mary Ann can only talk to Margaret by typing on the Tellatouch—which, of course, can't be done while Mary Ann is driving. Oh, the things we take for granted.) "Some sounds are useful, and some are not—and some are just `junk' noise. But they all tell me there is another world out there besides my own little silent one that I lived with so many years. Some sounds are sounds I have not heard in thirty or forty years. The typewriter bell is one I had not heard since back in the '50's. I am hearing many sounds with my implant that I have not heard since 1963." In November of 1991, Margaret wrote about attending the annual convention of the National Federation of the Blind: "When we sang the Star Spangled Banner at the convention on the Fourth of July, I couldn't hear it the way you do—in words—but I could follow it most of the way by the sounds, their intensity and the pauses. I finished singing the words in my mind before it was over, but I was so overjoyed at what I could hear of it that I was crying." A MOTHER'S STORY My name is Ruby Ryles, and I am the mother of three children, the oldest being a teen-age boy. Dan was born with arrested development of the vascular system of his eyes. In everyday terms this means that the development of his eyes ceased four months before his birth, and he was born totally blind. The first four years of his life were filled with hospitals and specialists. Although I was told by children's specialists that he never would, Dan walked, talked and developed within the normal time frame. Several years ago, Dan began to experience a loss of hearing, which came in sharp decreases. He would catch a mild cold with sniffles and awake a week or so later with a ringing in his ears, which signaled a loss. To no avail, we took him to specialists in Anchorage and Los Angeles. The loss in his left ear was permanent and substantial (50%). Due to loss of our business and also personal financial losses, our family relocated in Seattle. Within the year, Dan's frightening hearing problems recurred, along with more hearing losses. Only this time it was affecting his remaining good ear. A ray of hope occurred when the ear specialist informed us of a relatively new surgery that might stop further loss. However, our family had no medical insurance and very little cash. We were panic-stricken at the thought of not being able to give him the immediate help he needed. Each avenue I followed for assistance was met with a frustrating tangle of bureaucratic red tape, ending with denial of assistance. Our home was very tense as we struggled with the thought of what the future held if we could not get an operation for Dan. His daily life as a teenager held minor nuisances traceable to his blindness, but the added problems of deafness would end his normal life. He was used to traveling quickly and confidently, using his cane and his ears. How would he get around? How would he do his paper route? How could regular Jr. High teachers teach him if he couldn't hear them? What about his music? What about his social life and school friends? In short, he was terrified—as was I. For once, I had no answers for him. After two months of frantically searching for a means to finance Dan's surgery (along with constantly praying that he would not catch another cold in the meantime), I was awakened by a phone call from an official of the American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults. He began to ask questions concerning Dan's hearing, the need for the surgery, and our personal situation. Even in the mental grogginess of the early morning, I knew a prayer was being answered. Unknown to us, some of our friends had contacted the Action Fund about Dan's problem. Upon learning the details of the situation, the Action Fund agreed to pay the medical costs and helped us schedule surgery immediately. The operation on the first ear occurred within ten days. The surgery and recovery took less than a week, and arrangements were made for the second operation within the month. Dan regained most of his hearing in both ears, and everything seemed to be going well. Then, suddenly Dan started going deaf again. His doctors said the surgery had to be repeated in the right ear. The Action Fund was there again and told us to proceed immediately. No red tape, no quibbling—just the help we needed. This year Dan is a ninth grader in Northshore Jr. High. His curriculum includes: Algebra; History of Southeast Asia, Russia, and the Middle East; Symphony Band; Chemistry; Geology, and Conservation; English; and first year Spanish. He plays baritone horn in the band, with all his music in Braille. He walks to and from classes since we live only a few blocks from school. Several years ago, he began to earn his spending money with a morning paper route in Anchorage. When we moved to Seattle, he took an afternoon route, which he still has. He delivers; he collects; and he handles his customers entirely on his own. When he reaches 16, he wants to work at McDonalds after school. Dan is extremely reliable as a baby sitter for his younger sister and has baby-sat for friends for extra money. He cooks favorite dishes for the family when pressed into service, and will not admit to it but cleans the kitchen conscientiously as part of his household chores. Currently he is looking forward to the ninth grade party, summer activities, and high school next Fall. Because of the American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults, our son leads a normal life. As a young blind man, he depends on his hearing to allow him to participate fully in the world around him—sometimes, I think, more than a sighted teen. We owe an infinite debt to the American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults. I can't even imagine where Dan and our family would be without the immediate assistance which helped save his hearing. God bless the American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults and those who have given so generously to make its work possible—for without you, my son's future would be a frightening uncertainty. WHAT IS THE AMERICAN ACTION FUND FOR BLIND CHILDREN AND ADULTS The American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults is a service agency which specializes in providing to blind people help which is not readily available to them from government programs or other existing service systems. The services of the American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults are planned especially to meet the needs of blind children, the elderly blind, and the deaf-blind. The American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults has offices in Baltimore, Maryland, and Tarzana, California, and volunteer workers throughout the country. The Tarzana office houses our free lending library of Braille and Twin Vision® books for blind children. Books are sent postage free to borrowers wherever they live. We publish and distribute to deaf-blind persons a free weekly newspaper in Braille. The Action Fund also distributes free Braille calendars to blind and deaf-blind people on a nationwide basis. A very large number of volunteers help the Action Fund provide its services. The American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults has its headquarters in Baltimore, Maryland, at the National Center for the Blind. The National Center for the Blind was established in 1978 and has come to be the focal point of a great deal of the work being done to assist blind people throughout the country. The Action Fund carries on a widespread campaign of public education, administers a program of scholarships and financial and other specialized assistance to individual blind persons, conducts seminars about blindness, and provides information to senior citizens to help them deal with vision loss in their later years. A renovated, turn-of-the-century, manufacturing facility comprising a square city block houses the National Center for the Blind, giving it ample space for handling the many activities relating to blindness which occur there. The International Braille and Technology Center for the Blind is also located at the National Center for the Blind. The American Action Fund assisted in establishing and equipping the International Braille and Technology Center for the Blind so that all blind individuals, family members, employers, or other interested individuals can have the opportunity to learn about and evaluate the various kinds of computer-access devices which are now available to the blind. Many of you may have known us for years as the American Brotherhood for the Blind. The American Brotherhood for the Blind was established in 1919 by a member of the Theosophical Society to give help to the blind. The new organization took its name from the Society's belief in the universal brotherhood of all mankind, and since 1919 the organization has held fast to its belief in the brotherhood of all—that is, that its services are to be provided to all without regard to race, sex, creed, or national origin. Although the American Brotherhood's basic beliefs have not changed in the seventy plus years since 1919, The American language has. Today, the word "Brotherhood" has come to have in some people's minds insensitive and sexist overtones of exclusion—the very opposite of the founder's original intent of universal service to all, which he wished to convey by choosing the name American Brotherhood for the Blind. The Board of Directors of the American Brotherhood for the Blind decided during 1990 to initiate action to restore the original descriptive connotation of the organization's name by adopting the name, "American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults" as its federally registered operating name, or trademark, while still retaining the trademark of American Brotherhood for the Blind. The process is under way of associating the services of the American Brotherhood for the Blind with its modernized operating name, American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults—a name which reflects the language and cultural notions of the times in which we live while at the same time preserving the traditional service values envisioned by the organization's founders more than seventy years ago. All of the board members of the American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults are blind and receive no financial compensation for their services. The members of the Board have succeeded in a variety of occupations and activities and have learned to deal with blindness and its inconveniences. LEADERSHIP The fact that all officers and board members of the American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults are themselves blind and serve as volunteers is of central importance to the overall philosophy and operation of the organization. It means that those forming policy and establishing priorities know from first-hand experience the problems blind people face and the kind of help that is needed. Barbara Walker is president of the American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults. In many ways her life and the experiences she has had are typical not only of the leadership of the Action Fund but also of those whom it serves, as well. She spends a great deal of time working to help make the future brighter for blind children growing up today than it was for the blind of her generation. Recently she spoke to a group of parents of blind children about her own upbringing, and how her parents laid the foundation for her independence as an adult. Here is what she had to say: I have always been blind. My sister Laurie is also blind. Our older brother Lani isn't. There was, to our parents' knowledge, no history of blindness in our family. Concerning my sister, the doctors said they didn't know the cause of blindness but thought there was probably a one in a thousand chance of recurrence. Since I arrived—blind—fourteen months later, either I'm one in a thousand, or they didn't know what they were talking about. All of us are now grown, married, and have children—none of whom are blind. So, you may ask, what are blind babies like? If my sister and I were typical (and I believe we were), it is as impossible to generalize about blind babies as it is to do so about any babies. My sister, from what I remember Mom telling me, crawled, walked, and talked at about the same time as neighbor kids her age. She ran away from home more than once while still in diapers, handled everything she could get to, was quick with her fingers, questioned incessantly, and insisted on a prominent place in the world. I, on the other hand, neither walked nor talked until I was about two; showed little visible evidence that I was particularly curious about my environment; and was clumsy and awkward with my hands and body—breaking many things with which I came into contact. As toddlers and preschoolers, we continued to show contrasts. Laurie, at age two, walked along the piano, reaching up to pick out melodies on the keyboard. She generally chose gentle play— interacting with others, real or imaginary—and was afraid of high slides, going on carnival rides, and the like. I loved rough play— wrestling, running hard, swinging and/or climbing high, flipping over and off of bars, throwing and catching balls—and I loved high slides, carnival rides, and the like. My point is that blind babies, toddlers, preschoolers—in fact all blind children, youth, and adults—have as wide a range of interests, abilities, and approaches to life as do others—even when raised in the same family. As I mentioned before, there was no known history of blindness in our family. Mom and Dad knew nothing about blindness. They struggled with stereotypes as all of us do, but their hope for us was the same as that for our brother—that we would eventually be contributing and fulfilled adults, no longer needing or wanting to live under their care. Mom, the more verbally expressive of our parents, said there were many times when she didn't understand how we would or could do things, and it scared her to have us try. But she didn't stand in our way. She learned Braille so that we could correspond privately. She persistently went to bat for us when we were left out or mistreated—not in ways which made us dependent upon her, but in ways which preserved respect and dignity for everyone, and provided us with experience in everything from fielding questions to finding alternative methods for doing things ordinarily done with the use of sight. Dad showed his acceptance of us in other ways. He showed us how things worked. He pointed out nonvisual qualities of things generally perceived visually, like the contrasting cool and hot pavement where the shadow passed. He made us doll cribs and a playhouse, and shelves that would accommodate Braille books. Dad also took me fishing, showed me how to shoot baskets, and encouraged my interests in competitive sports. My sister and I were given hands-on experiences whenever their availability and our interests coincided. I was a very shy child, and sometimes my self-consciousness prevented me from taking full advantage of these opportunities. If Laurie was along, I generally asked her later about whatever we had seen, and she would explain it in detail—sometimes creating a replica to show me. Underlying all of these things were our parents' respect for us as people and their encouragement toward our finding a place in society—not a pigeonhole created by them or anyone else, but a place we would learn as others do. That genuine attitude of respect and belief in our worth and dignity did more than all the experiences and skills combined in allowing us to grow and become contributing members of society. Now that I am an adult, I continue to be grateful to my parents for the upbringing I received. Barbara Walker is a lifetime resident of the state of Nebraska and a graduate of the University of Nebraska. She has served as Director of the Nebraska State Rehabilitation Center for Blind Adults. Barbara chose to become a full time mother and homemaker when she and her husband Jim had their first child in 1981. Widowed suddenly and unexpectedly in 1989, Barbara is raising her two children, Marsha and John, alone and continues to be an acknowledged leader in affairs of the blind—both in Nebraska and on the national level. DIRECT ASSISTANCE TO BLIND INDIVIDUALS The American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults tries to do exactly what its name implies—that is, take Action. Often, when there is a need, the help is needed at once. Emergencies require action, not paperwork. When the Action Fund can help, it tries to do so immediately and without red tape. Consider the following situations: --Hurricanes Hugo and Andrew damage and destroy the homes of blind individuals in North and South Carolina and Florida; Hugo devastates a school for blind children in Jamaica. --A child is totally blind. Suddenly his hearing starts to fail, also. The family has no medical insurance, and the father is out of work. Surgery to save the boy's hearing is needed, and it is needed immediately. The family has looked for help but has run into red tape and bureaucratic delays. The surgery won't wait. --An 82-year-old blind woman in Massachusetts lacks the money to pay for a telephone lifeline which enables her to continue living in her own home. --A blind couple with young blind children have fallen behind in their mortgage payments because the father has been unable to work. They face foreclosure and loss of their home. --Two blind children are counting on being able to attend summer camp. But their parents have had problems and, at the last minute, they can't come up with the money. --Fire destroys all the personal belongings, furniture, appliances, and kitchen utensils of a blind woman in Arizona who also is further disabled by having the use of only one hand. Her specially modified equipment—a one-handed Braillewriter and one-handed typewriter are also destroyed. She is unemployed and lives on very limited income. --A man living in Georgia is diabetic. He has recently been blinded. He has no job. The family has no food in the house. The power company is about to turn off the electricity because he has been unable to pay his bills. --A mentally retarded blind woman in her seventies has been living independently and taking care of herself for a number of years. She was issued a credit card by a large department store chain. She bought and charged a few small items. She did not understand the payment system. Finance charges, far in excess of the things she bought, built up. She thought the bills were wrong, since they were for so much more than what she had purchased. So, she did not pay them. The finance charges continued to build. She began to make payments, but by this time the bill had grown to nearly seventeen hundred dollars, and she was told that (at the rate she was able to pay) she would be 106 years old before the bill was paid off. She received increasingly frequent and nasty telephone calls and letters from the store's credit department. They threatened to have her into court as a debtor. She was confused and frightened. --A multiply handicapped blind child was killed in a school bus accident. After her death her parents (also blind) adopted another multiply handicapped child, and have devoted themselves to reaching out to help parents of other such children. They used their personal resources to create a support network, which grew to over 500 participants. Then they ran out of money to keep their program going by themselves. --A blind man has been out of work for an extended period. He has six children, and he needs winter clothing for them. He keeps hoping to get help from the Social Security Administration, but there have been administrative snarl-ups, and no money has come. --A deaf-blind individual needs specialized computer equipment to enable her to communicate with others. It is expensive, and the government rehabilitation program in her area says it doesn't have the money to help. She has a good education and was formerly employed in a professional position. She thinks this equipment would enable her to become employed again and that she would be able to help other deaf-blind people, but she has to have the equipment. --A deaf-blind mother has a young deaf son. There is a device she can purchase that would signal her by vibration to tell her that the doorbell is ringing, but she lacks the money to buy it. --A blind mother needs legal assistance to retain custody of her child. Local officials want to take the child away because they don't believe a blind person can care for a child. --An elderly blind woman worked all of her life in a sheltered workshop—most of the time at less than minimum wage. Even so, she saved all she could, and when she retired she was able to purchase a tiny house. But she has been unable to keep it in good repair. The roof leaks badly and the ceilings and floor have been damaged. A handyman has been found who has volunteered to do the work without charge, but materials must be purchased, and there is no money. --A blind individual has severe asthma. His doctors tell him that he must move to a drier climate. He has relatives who can help some, but he still does not have enough resources to make the move. In each of these situations the American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults was able to give direct financial assistance, and to give it immediately upon learning of the need. The Action Fund is also often able to provide know-how, technical assistance, and people to help smooth the way and get the job done. Sometimes this kind of help can be almost as important as direct financial aid. Even so, there are some problems that can only be solved by providing the money to meet the need. TWIN VISION® BOOKS AND THE KENNETH JERNIGAN LIBRARY FOR BLIND CHILDREN The specialized children's services of the American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults grew from a unique idea. In 1958 Jean Dyon Norris originated the concept of Twin Vision® Books—books with adjacent pages of print and Braille. She began the project by making such a book for a blind friend, whose children couldn't understand why their mother could not read to them. Jean and a friend of hers began transcribing, proofreading, and assembling these books at home for just a few friends. In 1961 the idea of producing these books was brought to the attention of the American Brotherhood for the Blind (which is now the American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults). The ABB decided to lend its support to this worthwhile project, and in 1962, Braille presses and equipment were acquired to begin the production. In 1965 the office moved to Tarzana, California, and the first lending library was initiated with a total of forty-five books. These books became known as Twin Vision® books (now a trademarked name), and the first facility became known officially as the Twin Vision® Publishing Division of the American Brotherhood for the Blind. In 1991 the name of the lending library was changed to the Kenneth Jernigan Library for Blind Children in honor of Dr. Kenneth Jernigan—who, as a member of the Board of Directors of the American Brotherhood for the Blind in 1961, was instrumental in getting the organization to adopt the Twin Vision® books project. His continued support has developed the library into a national service, with the largest source of reading material of its kind for blind children and blind parents. He knew first-hand what it meant not to have something to read because he was blind himself. As a result of his understanding and actions many years ago, every blind child today can have an ample supply of children's books, and blind parents have a wealth of Twin Vision® books to read to and with their sighted children. The Kenneth Jernigan Library for Blind Children has more than 40,000 Braille and Twin Vision® volumes available. These books are loaned free of charge to blind children, blind parents who have sighted children, schools, regional libraries for the blind, institutions serving the blind, and schools and libraries in many foreign countries. One of our services is the production of what we call our Great Documents Series. This series includes such works as the United States Constitution and the Declaration of Independence in Braille. Our Twin Vision® books include such titles as The Presidents of the United States and Great Americans in the Hall of Fame. This series is designed to help young readers learn about American history. The Great Documents series is a specialized part of our library and is of interest to blind students in junior high and beyond. The "Shapes of Things" series is another specialized part of our Twin Vision® program. Blind children, like their sighted friends, want to learn about everything from dinosaurs to musical instruments. The raised illustrations which were developed for The "Shapes 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 services and materials provided by the Kenneth Jernigan Library have significantly changed the lives of blind and deaf-blind persons throughout the world. In the field of education, blind students have been given an incentive to read and explore a new dimension through the medium of raised illustrations, which allow blind children to feel the same pictures their sighted friends enjoy. Blind parents and sighted children (or vice versa) can read together, and blind teachers are able to read with their sighted students. The world-wide distribution of this material is unequaled in kind by any other organization serving the blind, and all services and material are free on request. The Kenneth Jernigan Library for Blind Children utilizes many dedicated, hard-working volunteers. The services that the library provides would not be possible without all of our talented volunteers. In addition to the volunteers who come into the Tarzana office, there are also several volunteer Braille transcribing groups in California and Nevada which work to produce the many books for children. As a result of one of our very first mailings of Twin Vision® books that went to schools and libraries, we received the following comments in a letter: "The two Twin Vision® books came today. Our whole staff were thrilled by them. This afternoon one of our small readers, a boy of nine, came in with his mother and younger sighted brother. I showed the books to Alan, the blind youngster. I wish you could have had the fun we did watching him read them to the small brother. Well, the books went home with them even if we didn't have them `processed' for circulation. I don't know who was the most pleased, but we all beamed. I can assure you. What a wonderful idea. Bless you one and all." FACTS ABOUT THE LIBRARY The Kenneth Jernigan Library for Blind Children is a non-profit charitable foundation, dedicated to the reading pleasure and education of blind children and young adults. The books catalogued in the Library are Brailled by volunteers, who have contributed countless hours of time and effort to bring the total collection of the Library to more than 40,000 Braille books. The Library is unique in that we do not have "walk-in" patrons. Books are selected and then distributed to our patrons solely by mail. Because books are in a continual state of flux, it is impossible to offer a complete catalogue of available books. Library books are distributed free of charge to subscribers. Who Is Eligible Individuals, as well as schools and itinerant teachers, are qualified to use our books. Children using books must be under the guidance and responsibility of a parent or school advisor. School libraries must adhere to regulations concerning return and/or request for extension. Kinds of Books Available Books are available in two distinct formats: Twin Vision® or straight Braille. Twin Vision® books contain adjacent pages of ink-print and Braille, making it the ideal form for teachers and parents. Many of our Twin Vision® books contain colorful pictures in ink-print, which can be equally enjoyed by sighted children with blind parents or students with limited vision. The Kenneth Jernigan Library has also produced an original "Shapes of Things" series of Twin Vision® books containing raised (tactile) illustrations. A list of these books can be obtained by request. Straight Braille books are produced for the use of more advanced students and for upper grade readers. Titles in this category contain many classics of literature. All library books are graded by reading level. When applying for service, please include the reading level of the books you require. Should you, in the future, find that the books being sent are in the wrong reading level, please inform us. Corrections will be made in time for the next mailing. Selection of Books Books are chosen by computer, based on grade level. Specific titles may be requested or reserved. Requested books will be sent by the next mailing or as soon as the title becomes available. Circulation Circulation of books is based on a "turn-around" system. Books are sent to subscribers for a period, not to exceed three months. The books should then be returned to the Library in the same mailing box in which the books were sent. It is only necessary to pull out the mailing label and reverse it. The return address is printed on the reverse side. No postage is required. When the books are received and checked in, a new selection of books is immediately made and sent at the next mailing. A request for extension of time is available upon request. A complete record is maintained of all titles sent to the subscriber, thus assuring no duplication of future mailings. Mailings usually include at least four titles. Schools and teachers may request additional books. Please indicate on application. For reasons beyond our control a book may be mailed damaged or with missing pages. We would appreciate it if you call it to our attention. Repairs can then be made when the book is returned. The Kenneth Jernigan Library for Blind Children considers it a privilege to serve you. We welcome you and hope you will enjoy our books. HOT-LINE TO DEAF-BLIND The American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults publishes Hot-Line to Deaf-Blind, a free, weekly Braille newspaper for deaf-blind people. It was first published in November of 1964. It is a summary of the most current news stories. Since deaf-blind people do not have access to the newspaper or to radio or television, this news summary is very important. 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. When one can both see and hear, little thought is given to knowing the basic happenings in the world. It is nearly inconceivable to imagine not knowing, for instance, that a major earthquake has taken place in California, or that America is at war. Here is how a Hot-Line reader puts it: "Just a few lines to let you know how grateful I am, as a deaf-blind reader of Hot-Line, for the prompt bulletin about the earthquake. Even if we have no personal friends involved, we deaf-blind all like to know as soon as possible what is going on, and those living alone, as I do, are often the last to find out. My sister did mention it to me yesterday, but requiring so much spelling, she didn't go into detail. Coming on the heels of Hugo as it has, makes me feel that Armageddon is surely at hand. I do feel for all involved." And, from another reader on the Persian Gulf War: "This is a long overdue thank you to all who make Hot-Line to Deaf-Blind possible. I've been a reader since it first started, and it is getting better and better all the time. For us who can neither see to read the papers nor hear the news on radio and TV, this little newsletter means more to us deaf-blind than you folks can ever imagine. Lately you are going into great detail to let us read about the big crisis in the Middle East. Please keep Hot-Line coming. It means so much." And, finally, from a brand new reader, on Hurricane Andrew: "I have just last month started receiving your newspaper for the deaf-blind, "HOTLINE." On Saturday, August 29, 1992, I read about Hurricane Andrew hitting the Florida coast on August 24. Now that's getting the news to us really fast. It is more up-to-date than anything in Braille I have gotten. Please show this letter to the editor, because he does such a good job of picking out the most important events to tell about, which would really be a challenge. Thank you for all of your services to the blind and deaf-blind. Things for the deaf-blind in Braille are really hard to come by." Until 1992 Hot-Line to Deaf-Blind was published only every two weeks. During the Gulf War our readers were so anxious to know what was happening that we produced an edition each week. At the end of the War we were urged to continue the weekly service, and we have done so. It is not hard to see why the Hot-Line to Deaf-Blind is deeply appreciated by so many deaf-blind people. The Hot-Line to Deaf-Blind is distributed world-wide, but is limited to the deaf-blind and to institutions serving the deaf-blind. 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. BRAILLE CALENDARS Another service of the American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults is the production and distribution of free Braille calendars for blind and deaf-blind people. The small Braille calendars were originally intended only as a gift to be included with the Hot-Line mailings. They have since become so popular that from that initial printing of 200, the number of requests received each year is now in the tens of thousands. Our Braille calendars, which include holidays and blank pages for personal notes, were started in 1965. Today they are the most popular Braille calendars available to the blind. One of our calendar recipients wrote these comments: "To most sighted people a print calendar is something pretty much taken for granted—there are so many generally available. However, a Braille calendar is a most fortunate and treasured item for those of us who are blind. By making available a calendar in Braille, your organization is providing a most meaningful and appreciated service." OTHER SERVICES Educating the public about the abilities of the blind is a major function which goes on in all aspects of our programs. We serve as an information and referral source to people who write or call with questions about blindness or the blindness service system. We have outreach volunteers who provide these services to people in their home localities. We provide information and support to parents of blind children and publish materials to help educate sighted children about blindness. Training seminars about blindness are conducted. We participate in maintaining and expanding the International Braille and Technology Center for the Blind. Specialized services and assistance are provided to the deaf-blind and to other blind individuals with specific needs. Information and assistance are provided to senior citizens to help them deal with vision loss in their later years. CHILDREN AND BLINDNESS We have found that one of the best ways to assist children in developing a healthy self-image about blindness is to help them meet and interact with competent blind adults who are leading happy, productive lives. We have blind outreach workers who are glad to talk with parents and blind children. The passage of Public Law 94-142, the Education of All Handicapped Children Act, established certain rights and protections for blind children and their parents. Blind children are now entitled to a free public education in the "least restrictive environment," and parents have the right to help plan their child's educational program. We are always happy to answer questions, provide literature, serve as advocates, or refer parents to other knowledgeable people in their community for information and support. Since the best way to change attitudes about blindness is to educate the public, and since our children are our society of tomorrow, it is equally as important to educate sighted children about blindness. We believe 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. To assist with this process, the American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults distributes Questions Kids Ask About Blindness. This book gives basic information about blindness in a straightforward question/answer format. Parents, teachers, and children themselves write to us to request information about blindness. We also provide information about how they can get in touch with blind people in their community who may be able to come and talk to their classes. You can help us educate children in your community by helping make our literature available. SCHOLARSHIPS Blind students can take advantage of the same scholarship programs that are available to sighted students and should be encouraged to do so. However, there are also scholarships which are specially designated for blind students. The American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults awards scholarships to deserving blind students each year, including one for $10,000. The deadline for scholarship applications is March 31 of each year. 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. This program can also be used to help pay guides/interpreters for deaf-blind people who wish to attend seminars or other training workshops. SEMINARS FOR LOCAL BLIND LEADERS We are very glad to have the opportunity to share information with you about our dynamic training seminars for local blind leaders. The importance of these seminars to the quest for equal opportunity and a full life for the blind of the nation cannot be stressed enough. These seminars are held at the National Center for the Blind in Baltimore several times a year. The number of blind people invited to each seminar is deliberately small, usually not more than thirty, because we want to be able to work closely with each individual. Typically seminar participants are emerging leaders from local communities throughout the country who arrive expectant and excited about having been chosen for this experience. Over a four to five day period, they begin each day with breakfast at seven o'clock in the morning and work—with only short breaks and meals—until ten o'clock or so every evening. Action Fund leaders conduct the sessions. It is an intensive learning experience for the participants, who typically return to their communities full of enthusiasm to put into practice what they have learned. There is much to learn during the short time that these leaders and future leaders have at the seminars. The entire system of help available to blind persons in this country is explored so that those attending can serve as resource persons to guide others in their local communities. They study the services available through state-federal vocational rehabilitation agencies, regional libraries for the blind and physically handicapped (every state has such service), and Social Security Disability Insurance and Supplemental Security Income programs for which many blind persons are eligible but are unable to apply because they have insufficient information. The National Center for the Blind houses the International Braille and Technology Center for the Blind, displaying for demonstration and training almost every known device for transcription and embossing of Braille, the conversion of print to spoken word, and other specialized aids useful to blind persons in employment and other activities. There is also a materials center at the National Center for the Blind which supplies literature on blindness in print, in Braille, and on cassette tapes. Specially adapted devices useful to blind persons in daily living (such as Braille watches and clocks, talking calculators, measuring devices, sewing aids, Braille writing equipment, cooking aids, and a host of other such assistive equipment) are available at the National Center for the Blind. Seminar participants learn about these resources, not only for their own use, but so they can provide information to other blind people in their home communities. The contributions of many generous individuals help make these seminars possible, and through them the American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults helps blind persons move from a negative self-image to belief in their ability to live productive, full lives—to contribute to their world and not merely to take from it. The seminar program helps enable those with leadership potential find the resources, information, and encouragement to lead others to this confidence. THE ENCHANTED KINGDOM: As the poet Robert Service said, there is a hunger "not of the belly kind that's filled with bacon and beans." There is the hunger of a blind child who wants contact with the world around her. Barbara Pierce is the wife of a college professor, the mother of three well-adjusted intelligent children in young adulthood, and a member of the Board of Directors of the American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults. She has worked as the assistant alumni director of Oberlin College—but it was not always like that. She remembers. When I was nine, my father walked in from work one day carrying a large, heavy case. My brother and I were consumed with curiosity, and my smugness and self-importance knew no bounds when he explained that the box was for me. Nothing, however, could have prepared me for the revolution that the heavy gray case would create in my life. The year was 1954, and the box was a Talking Book record player from the Library of Congress. If the President himself had presented me with the machine, I could not have been more astonished. I now know that, two years before, Congress had amended the Pratt-Smoot Act to include children in the Talking Book Program. But as I remember the lecture I was given that day, special arrangements had been made [I was certain that these had been at the highest levels of government], and it had been decided to allow me to read books on records because everyone knew what a careful and responsible girl I was. If I failed to operate the machine properly or (inconceivable catastrophe) if I broke one of the records, no other child would ever be given the privilege that I now saw shimmering on my horizon. The record player was set up in the downstairs bedroom, and I began to read. "The Privateer" by Gordon Daviot, "Little Men" by Louisa May Alcott, and "Bless This House" by Norah Lofts: these were the first three books. I promised myself that I would memorize the author of every book I read and the order in which I had consumed their work. I did pretty well at it for the first twenty books or so, but then I began to understand just how many books a person really could read, and my good intentions dissolved. Within a week the Talking Book machine was moved to my room so that the rest of the family didn't have to listen along with me. My bedroom never had much heat, and that winter I could only keep my hands warm by holding them over the glowing red light that indicated that the machine motor was turned on. I was lucky that those record players in the fifties threw out so much heat; otherwise frost bite would have found a contented victim. Until that intoxicating day when the Talking Book program walked into my life, I had had two choices when I wanted or needed to read a book. First, I could don a pair of heavy glasses with tremendous magnification in one lens; hunch over the page of print in very bright light; and struggle letter by letter to decipher the text, praying the while for a picture or, better yet, lots of pictures to take up space. My other alternative was to lie in wait for a member of my family. My brother, seven at the time, was good for comic books and not much more. Unfortunately, he favored Superman, and I preferred Scrooge McDuck. His verbal skills were taxed acutely by describing the pictures, and altogether Bobby was less satisfactory than my parents, if I could get them. I had already read "Heidi" and "Charlotte's Web" in ten-minute snatches, my mother's method of bribing me to do wretched eye exercises every day. My parents were generous with their time, but they were already helping me with every bit of my considerable homework, and there were limits to what even I was prepared to request. So the Talking Book machine and those amazing twelve-inch records played at 33 1/3 rpm really did change my life. I became the envy of my classmates. Not held down by such annoyances as vocabulary and spelling, I sailed into uncharted waters beyond my years. Teachers could easily be dazzled by book reports on the works of Dickens, Hawthorne, and Dostoyevsky. There were also those occasional passages which I found very illuminating but which I knew instinctively my parents had much better not overhear. I know now that, had Braille been offered me in these formative years, I would today be a much better educated person, but it was to be another twenty years before I heard of the American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults, and there was no one in my life warning me that Braille was essential to my education. THE INTERNATIONAL BRAILLE AND TECHNOLOGY CENTER FOR THE BLIND The International Braille and Technology Center for the Blind (IBTC) was established to serve as a nerve center and laboratory to stimulate the use and development of technology for the blind, to facilitate comparative evaluation of state-of-the-art technological devices, to constitute a test site for innovative technologies, and to function as a hands-on training center for blind individuals and other interested persons and groups. The IBTC is the world's largest demonstration and evaluation center for computer-related technology used by blind persons. The center has made a commitment to have for study, use, and demonstration at its headquarters in Baltimore at least one of every Braille-embossing computer-driven device that is commercially available anywhere in the world to blind individuals and institutions. There are also Braille translation programs, speech synthesizers, screen review programs, reading machines, scanners, optical character recognition systems, refreshable Braille displays, Braille note-taking devices, raised-line drawing equipment, and much more. The International Braille and Technology Center for the Blind is a two-story facility which is located at the National Center for the Blind in Baltimore, Maryland. The first floor, which is the heart of the Center, is a room approximately 120 feet long, which contains a series of stations displaying various groupings of equipment available for demonstration. The second floor of the Center contains offices and conference facilities. Center staff conduct tours and inform individuals about the features of the equipment. Those visitors with a more serious personal or professional interest in studying and comparing several systems can make arrangements to spend extended time in the facility to discuss technicalities with the Director of the International Braille and Technology Center for the Blind. Information, tours, and advice are available to anyone—blind individuals, professionals in the blindness field, manufacturers and sellers of technology, prospective employers, and members of the general public. The American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults is pleased to help make possible this truly unique state-of-the-art facility for the blind of the world. INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE BOTH DEAF AND BLIND There are approximately 40,000 deaf-blind people in the United States today, according to the latest estimates. Depending on which is judged to be the primary disability, deaf-blind persons may obtain services from agencies that serve the blind or from agencies which serve the deaf. It is not possible for persons to be served at the same time by both agencies, and very often the two disability agencies do not work harmoniously together to provide deaf-blind people with the services that are needed to assist with this dual disability. There are very few programs which serve the unique concerns of the deaf-blind. The deaf-blind are one of the disability groups which "fall through the cracks" of the governmental service agencies. This is the primary reason that the American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults puts emphasis on providing for the needs of the deaf-blind. Earlier in this book, you read Margaret Warren's story about her life. Margaret, like all other blind and deaf-blind people, is a unique individual. A person's other characteristics (such as intelligence, motivation, and persistence) along with environment and opportunity, greatly affect what the individual will do with his or her life. People who are both deaf and blind are frequently isolated from others. The major reason for this is the lack of communication with other people. Lack of contact imposes severe loneliness and isolation. For this reason the outreach work of the American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults with deaf-blind people is particularly significant in lessening the pain of human suffering. In working with an individual who is deaf an important 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. If children are deaf and blind from a very early age, it usually takes ingenuity and constant effort to help them reach their potential. The key to this is teaching communication skills. Most children listen to sounds and see the actions of the people around them. Deaf-blind children don't know conversations are happening unless someone makes a special effort to interpret what is said. Parents and teachers can learn to use the manual alphabet and sign language. The manual alphabet (or finger-spelling as it is sometimes called) is a bridge between American Sign Language and English. It is a series of hand motions which depict 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 manual alphabet and sign language can be used to teach deaf-blind children. For example, when a deaf-blind baby is handed a doll, the mother finger-spells "d-o-l-l" into the baby's hand. Of course, the baby has no idea what the mother is doing. Hearing children don't know what the word "doll" means either. They learn its meaning by hearing it said over and over again and by associating it with the cuddly toy. Deaf-blind children make the same association between a doll and the finger-spelled word for it. Most deaf-blind children begin some form of education before they can walk. Usually a teacher comes to the home and helps the parents learn how to work with the child. Federal law requires an education for deaf-blind children from early childhood through age twenty-one. Some deaf-blind people have been deaf from birth and became blind as teenagers or adults. They generally prefer sign language, which is used by deaf people. Instead of watching the hands and arms of friends, they touch the hands of 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 system requires the speaker to have extensive training in sign language. However, it is possible to interpret quickly using this method. When people become blind later in life, they already have language skills. Therefore, the Braille dot patterns are explained to deaf-blind persons through finger-spelling or sign language. After Braille skills are learned, communication possibilities expand, at least in communicating with another Braille user. Many deaf-blind people, who are Braille users, use a device known as the Tellatouch. This device is portable and weighs less than four pounds. It consists of a small typewriter keyboard, which the interpreter uses to pass on information. The deaf-blind person sits opposite the typist and places a finger on a small Braille "screen." Each letter that is typed appears briefly under the finger of the deaf-blind person. The letter can be felt as long as the typist holds down the key. Only one letter can be felt at a time. Fifty words per minute is probably the maximum speed of the device. The chief advantage of the Tellatouch is that it allows people who have no specialized training to communicate quickly with the deaf-blind. There is now a computerized version of the Tellatouch, known as the TelleBraille, which can be used for face-to-face communication and/or can be used as a telecommunication device for the deaf-blind over the telephone. Since it is extremely expensive, it is used by a very small number of people. 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 method can also be used by people with no specialized training. 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. 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. In order to communicate with the general public a small number of deaf-blind people may wear a glove with letters and numbers printed on it. 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 may work when no other method is available. Most deaf-blind people are fairly inventive when they want to communicate. Some speak understandably. Others need to find a way to make themselves understood as well as to understand what is being said. Most deaf-blind people are eager to have someone with whom to talk. They will probably be glad to help teach you how to talk with them. Using the Tellatouch or print-on-palm does not require any special knowledge. The basics of the manual alphabet can be learned in a few hours. It takes some practice to develop speed. Letters are "read" by the deaf-blind person placing his or her hand over the hand of the person making the letters. 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. If you learn of deaf-blind people who need our assistance, please encourage them to contact us. OLDER BLIND PERSONS Over half of all blind people in this country are 65 years of age or older. When blindness or visual loss occurs later in life, it can be extremely frustrating. But more importantly, assistance with the necessary adjustment to blindness is often much more difficult to obtain than it is for younger persons. Every state has a government funded rehabilitation program, with many states having separate agencies for the blind. These programs are mainly established to help people get back to work. If a person is of retirement age and is not looking for employment, he or she may not be eligible to receive services from these programs. Some states have recently established independent living programs to provide services to older blind individuals. Often a newly blinded person does not know where to go to find out about how to continue functioning as a blind person. Many people do not know about tools and methods which exist to make it possible for blind senior citizens to remain in their own homes and continue to be contributing members of society. The American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults is doing everything it can to make sure that older blind persons know what kind of help is available and how to obtain it. In order to help provide this information to as many people as possible, the American Action Fund published and distributes widely a book entitled A Handbook for Senior Citizens: Rights, Resources, and Responsibilities. This book contains the kind of information requested and desperately needed by thousands of blind individuals all over the country. On a daily basis, we receive letters from people requesting information for their spouse, child, friend, neighbor, or coworker who happens to be blind or who is losing vision. We respond to as many of these requests for information as we can. The material that follows is a list of typical questions and answers. "My mother is going blind. Where should she live?" A blind person can live comfortably and safely almost anywhere he or she chooses to live. Certainly, the same choices about living quarters should be available to the blind as are available to sighted individuals. In recent years thousands of older citizens have found it desirable to move into senior citizens' villages, apartment buildings, mobile home parks, or clusters of houses reserved for retired people. Some of these include group dining rooms and recreation facilities, while others have very few special services. Undoubtedly, some blind people will find arrangements such as these desirable. Some will not. Blind people should have the right to live in these senior citizen villages along with everyone else. Assuming that the blind person does not have health problems that make nursing home care necessary, elderly blind individuals should be able to learn alternative skills to care for themselves and live in whatever type of housing situation they prefer. "My mother is losing her vision. What is available to her and what can I do to help her feel useful again?" It is good that you are seeking information to help your mother. The American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults believes that it is not necessary for a blind person to be helpless or dependent. With proper training, encouragement, and opportunities, a blind individual can be active, self-sufficient, and productive. The most important thing for your mother to do now is to gather information about how blind people function effectively in the world. This includes the use of daily living skills and work-related skills. We can send you an article. The "Skills and Techniques Used by the Blind" chapter in this book will give you some ideas on alternative methods to be used in the area of cooking. Most alternative methods that blind individuals use are very simple, common sense methods. There is not much special equipment that is required. Your mother may want to consider learning Braille. She may find it very helpful. Even while the skills of reading and writing Braille are being learned she can make use of Braille in labeling canned goods and medicines. While she doesn't need to have labels on everything, she will enjoy the ease of life around the house as she is able to know what spices are on the rack, what kinds of soups are on the shelf, etc. She will also be able to note phone numbers and addresses without difficulty. The place to start in looking for activities that will help your mother feel useful and productive is with the things that she has enjoyed all of her life. Just because a person loses vision doesn't mean that she can no longer do the things that have interested her. There are a few simple techniques and devices that can allow people to continue doing most things. If your mother enjoys sewing, there are needle threaders and self-threading needles which make this possible. Sewing techniques useful to blind persons are discussed in another chapter of this book. We know blind people who knit, crochet, make latch-hook rugs, or make their own clothes. If your mother enjoys knitting, crocheting, crafts, or macrame, she can still do these things. It is just a matter of learning to perform certain tasks by touch rather than by sight. Encourage your mother to experiment with things she has always enjoyed doing. Another easily learned craft is making latch-hook rugs. If you purchase rugs that have large areas of the same color, and if you can work with her some on marking points where colors change, latch-hook can be very enjoyable. If gardening is something that holds an interest for her, there is no reason why she can't continue to garden. There are ways to perform all the gardening tasks by touch rather than by sight. If your mother was active in church groups or clubs, there are still many things she can do to contribute. We realize that transportation may be a problem. However, there may be someone who could offer her a ride to some of the activities in exchange for help with the gasoline purchase. Oftentimes, there is a real need for people to do telephone calling from their homes for church activities. The most important element in getting started on some of these things after a person loses vision is believing that it can be done. Learning to do things in a different way can initially be frustrating, but if you already have the skill, it does not take long to learn to do things by touch. Please encourage your mother to try some of these things. Throughout the country there are libraries that lend to blind individuals books and magazines that have been recorded on records or tapes, as well as Braille materials. The libraries also provide record players (talking book machines) and specially adapted cassette players without charge. Any person who is unable to read standard print is eligible to borrow these materials. The materials can be sent through the mail to and from the library free of charge, so this service does not cost the blind borrower anything. The service is provided by state and federal funds. Library services are available upon application from the library for the blind in your state. Most of these libraries are part of the network of the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped of the Library of Congress. We have found that one of the most useful things for newly blind people is to meet and interact with other competent blind individuals. There is a consumer organization of blind people called the National Federation of the Blind. We can send you material from this organization if you wish. It is very important that you encourage your mother to be active and to do as many things for herself as she can. "Can an older blind person learn Braille?" Whether or not a blind person at an advanced age would benefit from learning Braille depends upon many factors. If the individual is mentally alert, has a reasonably good memory, and is able to feel and distinguish the dots, it may be beneficial for him or her to learn Braille. The older blind person may want to learn enough Braille to put labels on things or to write down telephone numbers. Numbers in Braille are the same as the first ten letters of the alphabet with a number symbol placed before the letter. If you know the numbers and a few other letters, it is possible to use Braille playing cards. "Are there any games that are adapted for the blind?" Many games do not require adaptations. The use of a reader may be the only change that is required with others. 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 adapted sets. The pieces are shaped differently so that one color can be distinguished from the other. The boards are 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. "Can you recommend a nursing home for my father who is blind?" There are no such nursing homes. Any good nursing home can accommodate blind people adequately. It is essential for people to understand that just because a senior citizen becomes blind, that does NOT mean that nursing home care is necessary. Assuming that the blind person does not have health problems that make nursing home care necessary, elderly blind individuals should be able to learn methods to care for themselves and live in whatever type of housing situation they prefer. "My sister is blind and has other health problems that make nursing home care necessary. What should I look for to make sure she gets the care she needs?" Blindness, in and of itself, is not a sickness. Most people who are blind do not live in nursing homes. However, some people who need nursing home care for other reasons happen to be blind. Here are a few things to consider in choosing a nursing home suitable for a person who is blind: Are there other blind people living in the home? What do they do all day? Do they have talking books? If not, they may receive them without cost from the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped of the Library of Congress. Are blind residents encouraged to travel independently around the home? Will staff members show new residents where to find the dining room, or is it automatically assumed that blind people must be taken everywhere they wish to go? Do blind residents participate in the regular activities of the home? They should. Are residents who want to learn Braille encouraged to do so? Do staff members speak to patients upon entering or leaving a room? Do staff move the personal belongings of residents without notifying them or asking their permission? Are blind residents who used to enjoy needlework encouraged to continue with this hobby and shown ways to do needlework as a blind person? Knitting, crocheting, weaving, and other such skills are truly "handwork" and do not require sight. Are large print or Braille bingo cards, playing cards, and scrabble sets available? Does the home have good lighting? Can people have high intensity lamps with low glare in their rooms? Are public areas well lit? Is attention paid to reducing glare? Are blind people in wheelchairs routinely told about their surroundings if they are being pushed from one place to another? It is sometimes hard, particularly if a person has a severe hearing loss, to tell very much about surroundings while sitting in a wheelchair. This purpose can be accomplished in the course of a general conversation. Ask the director of nursing if there has been a staff training session on blindness recently. If there has not, we can probably find a local blind person who would be glad to offer staff training. "I am over 65, and I am legally blind. Am I eligible for any financial or medical assistance other than Social Security and Medicare?" If you are 65 or older, you will not receive any additional money from Social Security, just because you are blind. If you are under age 65, it is very important for the Social Security Office to know that you are blind. If you are eligible for Social Security Disability Insurance, you may continue to receive disability benefits (which may be higher) until you are age 65, at which time your payments will convert to Social Security based on the fact that you have attained age 65. Medicare pays hospital and doctor expenses under certain rules and limitations, but if your income is very low and/or you have some large medical bills, you may be eligible for some other medical assistance through your state or local programs. Depending on your financial circumstances, it may be possible to qualify for medical assistance through your State Department of Social Services. Most states also have what is called a "spend down program." If you are found eligible for this, you will pay a set amount of medical expenses for a six-month period of time, and the Department of Social Services will pay anything above this amount. Please check with your State Department of Social Services for further details. There are university hospitals in most states which are teaching hospitals for medical students. They are often able to provide medical services at a reduced rate. Other hospitals which have been constructed with federal funds are sometimes required, at least for a number of years, to provide some assistance to low income individuals. Please check with hospitals in your area for this type of program. If you are a Medicare recipient, there are some doctors who will accept for payment the amount that Medicare will pay. Many hospitals have doctor referral services and can tell you which doctors will accept Medicare patients. If you are looking for funding for eyeglasses, some medical assistance programs will pay for at least part of the cost of the glasses if you have a letter from your doctor saying that they are medically necessary. It is also possible that you may be able to get funding for eyeglasses from a local service organization such as the Lions Club or the Optimists. Please check in your local community for a Lions Club or an Optimists Club near you. If you are 65 or older, a U.S. citizen or legal resident, and you do not have access to an ophthalmologist that you have seen in the past, you may be eligible for the National Eye Care Project. If you think you may be eligible, call (800) 222-EYES (3937). Callers who meet the eligibility requirements are mailed the name of a participating ophthalmologist near their home. Participating doctors provide medical eye exams and treatment for conditions or diseases if necessary. Qualified callers will receive treatment at no out-of-pocket expense for the doctor's services. Eyeglasses, prescriptions, hospital services, and other medical services are not covered under the program. Doctors accept insurance assignment as payment in full. It is the responsibility of the agency on aging in your state to act as a referral agency for older citizens. There is also a state rehabilitation agency for the blind in your state which should be able to give you information. There may be other state or local services for which you may be eligible. The most important thing for you to remember is that you have a lifetime of experience to offer your family, friends, and the rest of the world. Just because you have lost your vision, does not mean that you don't still have a lot to offer to other people. Some new techniques, such as the ones discussed elsewhere in this book, are required. Learning to read and write Braille takes time and motivation. Using records and tapes instead of reading with your eyes takes some getting used to. Finding and learning to work with readers is a skill to be developed. Budgeting money to pay readers or finding volunteers is a new approach. Using public transportation and arranging for drivers are also changes. These new activities are skills that require new attitudes. You must come to understand that everyone has needs and that ours are not necessarily greater than those of others. We must find ways of giving to others, as well as getting others to help us. You probably will not feel OK about blindness until you realize that you still have a lot to offer to others. It is easy to become overwhelmed by our needs and forget that the greatest need of all is to continue giving. Do you knit or crochet for your grandchildren? Do you tell entertaining stories? Do you bake good cookies? Do you make quilts or wooden toys? Do you teach Bible study lessons? Do you take flowers to friends who are ill? Some of these things may seem unlikely for a blind person, but they aren't. We know many blind people who do all of these things and more. Believing that it is possible is the first step. The next step is using imagination, initiative, and persistence. When you need encouragement or support, be sure to contact other, more experienced, blind people. They will undoubtedly be happy to talk to you. SERVICES AVAILABLE TO THE BLIND Whoever it is—a newly-blinded man or woman, a senior citizen with failing eyesight, a blind child or infant—we (the American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults) would like to try to help. About 800,000 people in the United States are blind, and each year 50,000 more will become blind. Most of the people who lose their sight are older and are afraid that blindness will mean the end of their usefulness to their families and to the community. Others are children who are born blind and whose parents wonder what the future holds for a blind child. The American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults knows from working with thousands of blind people of all ages that blindness need not stop people. Services are necessary; so is confidence. We want blind people to know where to get services that will help build confidence. We—you and the American Action Fund—can work together to provide necessary information to the blind in our communities. Here are some of the services available to the blind. For more specific information about any of these services, please contact us. Library Services Every state has free library services for the blind and physically handicapped. Books and magazines are available in Braille, large print, and on cassette and records. The libraries also provide without charge record players (talking book machines) and specially adapted cassette players. Many tapes produced for the blind run at a slow speed so that it is possible to get more on each tape. These tapes will not play on a standard cassette player. Any person who, because of limited eyesight, cannot read print is eligible to borrow these materials. The materials can be sent through the mail to and from the library free of charge, so this service does not cost the blind borrower anything. It is provided by state and federal funds. The library may ask you to have a statement completed by your eye care professional who is familiar with your visual acuity. To locate the library for the blind nearest you, please contact your local public library. Radio Reading Services Many states have a radio reading service which broadcasts over the subcarrier of a public or private radio station. These services read parts of the largest newspapers in their region and provide other information to people who are unable to read print. It is necessary to obtain a special radio receiver to pick up these broadcasts. These receivers are usually provided free of charge or at a nominal fee. Check with your local library for the blind or your state rehabilitation agency for the blind for information about this service in your state. If you are unable to locate the service in your state, you may contact the Association of Radio Reading Services, P. O. Box 847, Lawrence, Kansas 66044; (913) 864-4600. Rehabilitation When a person first loses sight, it is often necessary to learn different ways of accomplishing the ordinary activities of daily life. The process of learning these alternative methods and of getting back to your former level of functioning is called rehabilitation. There is a federal vocational rehabilitation program in each state, which provides training, counseling, and employment placement services to the blind. Sometimes the service is provided directly, and sometimes it is contracted out to private rehabilitation facilities. In some states there are funds set aside specifically to rehabilitate older people who become blind. This service in your state should be a state agency or commission. Employment Blind people are working today in an ever-widening array of jobs, but ignorance about the capabilities of the blind still keeps many qualified blind people out of the work force. It is often helpful for a blind job seeker to use specialized resources in addition to employment services available to others. The American Action Fund can help blind people find those resources. We can also answer employers' questions about hiring the blind. Job Opportunities for the Blind (JOB) is a joint project of the U.S. Department of Labor and the National Federation of the Blind. JOB offers free services to anyone in the United States who is blind and looking for work. These services include a nationwide reference and job referral service, a job hunter's magazine on cassette, recorded job-seeking information, print materials for employer education, local and national career-planning seminars, consultation on job-related equipment, and introductions to blind peers who are employed in the jobs of interest to the job seeker. For further information please contact JOB at (800) 638-7518. Social Security Many blind people are eligible for one of two programs offered by the Social Security Administration. The first is a program called Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI). As the name implies it is an insurance program. If you have worked and paid into Social Security for a certain number of quarters, you may be eligible for monthly payments. The second program is called Supplemental Security Income (SSI). It is a needs-based program and will be affected by any other family income. Blind persons who have little or no regular income or savings may qualify for monthly payments under the SSI program. Both of these programs have special rules which apply only to blind people. Contact your local Social Security Office for information and applications. Always let your Social Security office know that you are blind when applying for any benefits. Blindness does not automatically entitle an individual to cash benefits (or as some call it) a "pension." A person who is 65 or older will not get increased Social Security benefits simply because of blindness. Please contact us if you have any problem understanding the regulations, if you have been unjustly denied benefits, or if you have other questions. Free Reading Matter Mail Privilege Braille, recorded, and large print reading matter (including library books and magazines) may be mailed to and from blind persons free of charge if "free matter for the blind" is written or stamped on the envelope or package. Braille watches, white canes, and other special appliances for the blind are included in this privilege. Letters that are handwritten or that are printed or typed in standard-size type cannot be sent "free matter for the blind." In order to qualify for the "free matter" stamp, the print must be at least 14-point type or larger. Any letter or package which is stamped "free matter for the blind" may be opened by the postal service for inspection. If you would like a copy of the regulations regarding "free matter for the blind," it should be available from the post office and is contained in Part 135 of the Domestic Mail Manual. Civil Rights There are federal and state laws and regulations which protect the civil rights of the blind in such areas as employment, education, housing, insurance, public transportation, and public facilities. If you know of someone who thinks he or she has been unjustly treated or discriminated against just because of blindness, please contact us. We will try to help. With the implementation of the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA), all programs covered under this law need to be accessible to the blind. To assist covered entities in meeting the ADA's information access requirements, the National Information Access Center was established at the National Center for the Blind. For information about the ADA as it relates to blindness, please contact the National Information Access Center at (410) 659-9314. Products and Aids Technology has made many useful products available to the blind. Some aids make daily life easier such as Braille watches, talking clocks, and cooking aids. Other products such as Braille and speech-access technology for computers, have opened up more employment opportunities for the blind. If you or any one you know needs further information about anything listed in this book, please be sure to contact us. A major emphasis of our program is to insure that all blind and deaf-blind people acquire information about programs and services which are available to them. SKILLS AND TECHNIQUES USED BY THE BLIND OK, so we have told you that it is possible to learn other ways of dealing with the world as a blind person. And we have told you that you can be a competent, productive member of society. Well, what do you have to do to make this possible? How can you believe any of this is true if you can't even get to your front door yourself, or you don't even know what food is inside of those blasted metal cans in your cupboard that all feel alike. The process is one of learning skills, such as how to get around, and at the same time building confidence in your ability to be able to function. You have to believe that it is possible for a blind person to live a normal life, and then you need to learn how they do things. Then you have to believe that it is possible for YOU to learn the same kinds of things. We have found that the best way to do this is for newly blinded people to meet and interact with competent blind people in their community. There are self-help organizations of blind people in most major cities throughout the country, and there may very well be a blind person who lives and works right in your own neighborhood. If you need help finding organizations of the blind in your area, please write or call us. Blind people need to use their hands to get information. You should not be afraid to touch things you want to "look at." If a blind woman goes to a meeting of a women's club and hears everyone talking about Mabel's gorgeous new handbag, it will generally be considered reasonable and proper for the blind person to ask for a description of the handbag, to touch it or to examine it by touch. It is perfectly sensible for a blind person to pick up most merchandise in stores and examine it by touch. Obviously, some judgment must be used about this. Too often blind people do not touch things when it would be useful to do so because they are afraid of being conspicuous. It will probably be noticed, but so what? Any person who is at all different will be noticed. It is far better for you to be involved in what is going on and gain information about it, rather than stand silently by just because you don't want to be different. You have as much right to be involved as anyone else. If you feel OK about blindness and handle it in a matter-of-fact manner, others will take their cues from you. Our society reacts to blindness in such a way that we often assume that blind people have lost much ability. To put it another way, our society is so emotional about blindness that we often do not think at all. When we do stop to think, it is obvious that the loss of eyesight need not affect our ability to do most things or our ability to obtain information through our other four senses. It is convenient to be able to see to read the newspaper, to look across a room or street, to identify people, et cetera. Not to be able to do these things with sight does not prevent an individual from doing them some other way. A blind person learns to make use of information supplied by sounds and touch such as listening to traffic, feeling Braille dots, identifying objects by touch, and so on. These methods will make use of the individual's experience, intelligence, skills, imagination, and ingenuity. The methods will not be the same for all blind people, but certain skills will be valuable to most. As a blind individual gains experience with blindness, he or she will find new methods that do not require the use of sight to do the things he or she wishes to do. In this section we hope to give you some ideas about what you can reasonably expect to do without sight and some suggestions about how to do these things. The ideas presented are only suggestions. After you start thinking about using your other senses, you will come up with some of your own methods that you might like better. It is important for you to start thinking to yourself, "I know there is a way to do this. All I have to do is figure out how." Independent Travel The ability to travel from place to place safely and efficiently is one of the most important skills a blind person can learn. This is true because if you can't go anywhere it is difficult to accomplish much. Most blind people use a long white cane for independent travel. A smaller percentage of people use guide dogs. The long white cane is a tool which is used by a blind person to clear a path in front of him or her. The hand should grasp the cane as if you were shaking hands with someone, and the index finger and thumb should extend along the handle. The hand holding the cane should be held about waist high and centered in front of your body fairly close to the stomach with the arm resting comfortably against your side. The cane should be moved in an arc back and forth tapping once on the left side and then moved to the right side. The arc should be just slightly wider than the person's shoulders, so that the cane movement will protect your entire body from hitting any obstacle in the pathway. The cane movement should be controlled by wrist movement, not arm motion. When an individual is walking, the cane should always be in front of the foot that is back, and should hit the floor at the same time that the foot hits the floor. For example, as you step forward with your right foot, the cane moves to the left and hits the floor in front of the left foot. Then as you step forward with your left foot, the cane moves to the right and hits the floor in front of the right foot, and so on. This pattern insures that you will always have an extra step before you come to whatever your cane contacts. The basics of cane technique can be learned in a short period of time. The important thing then is to practice and to build confidence in your ability to travel by yourself. The combination of the sound and tactile feedback given by the cane, plus the other environmental information, such as the sound of the traffic, gives the blind person the information that is needed to travel safely and independently. You should be able to get assistance in learning cane travel from the rehabilitation agency for the blind in your state. You also may want to contact other blind people in your community, who will be happy to give you information and teach you what they know. Many people who are losing sight resist using a cane, because they imagine that it represents dependence. They may be ashamed of being blind. Sometimes a family member may object to the cane being used. However, the cane is actually a symbol of independence since it is the means for a blind person to travel safely wherever he or she may wish to go. Braille Braille was first developed in the 1820's by Louis Braille who was a young French student. He modified a system of writing originally developed for use by soldiers on the field of battle at night and was therefore called "night writing." Braille is a system of raised dots and is comprised of signs formed by the use of all the possible combinations of six dots arranged in a Braille cell that looks like this: 1 * * 4 2 * * 5 3 * * 6 Each dot within the cell has a number. The dots are numbered 1, 2, 3, from top to bottom on the left; and 4, 5, 6, from top to bottom on the right. The letter or symbol that is formed depends on how many dots are used and their respective position within the Braille cell. For example, a is dot 1 (the top left dot); b is dots 1 and 2 (the top and middle left dots). The diagram shows the dot patterns for the rest of the alphabet. In learning Braille it is important to learn the dot patterns by number as in the previous example. In contrast to printed letters, there are not different symbols for capital letters in Braille. The same symbols are used but are preceded by a capital sign which is dot 6. The numbers are the same as the first ten letters of the alphabet, except that they are preceded by a number sign which is dots 3, 4, 5, 6. The alphabet, the numbers, and punctuation signs make up what is commonly known as Grade One Braille. Grade Two Braille is a contracted form of Braille, which is sometimes compared to shorthand. Contracted Braille is used to speed up reading and writing and to save space. Braille is written on heavy paper so that it will hold the shape of the dots longer and won't be as likely to be mashed. Braille is written in two different ways. Using a slate and stylus compares to writing print with a pen or pencil. A slate is made of metal or plastic and is hinged so that it can be clamped shut over the paper. The slate serves as a guide for the stylus which is used to punch the dots into the paper. With a slate and stylus you write from right to left since the dots are being produced on the underside of the paper. In order to read, you take the paper out of the slate and turn it over. You will be reading from left to right, just as print is read. Braille is also written with a Braille writer, which is comparable to a typewriter, except that it has only six keys (representing the six dots in the Braille cell) and a space bar. Unlike a typewriter, all six keys may be pushed at once. Pushing the various combinations of the keys forms the various letters of the alphabet and other Braille symbols. Braille means literacy for blind people. It is very important for all of us to have a way to gather information, to be able to write it down and retrieve it again later. It is extremely important for blind children to grow up with a means of reading and writing that is going to be useful to them all of their lives. Some "legally" blind children are not taught Braille because they can see some large print. But what happens to them when they get to college and can't get books in large print and can't possibly read the volume of material that is assigned? The deaf-blind are another group for which Braille is extremely important. Braille may be their only means of gathering information about what is going on in the world around them. If you are losing sight, even if you are a senior citizen, you may want seriously to consider learning enough Braille to take down phone numbers, make lists, and write notes to yourself. Or you may want to learn Braille for more fun things like playing cards or games. If you would like to learn Braille, but you can't find anyone to help you, please contact us. Sewing A blind person can and should continue to do whatever kind of sewing he or she did as a sighted person. A blind person uses most of the same methods a sighted person uses, but here are a few suggestions and gadgets that are often helpful. Many people use needle threaders to thread needles. There are a variety of types available. The simplest of these is available in sewing departments in most cities. It consists of a small piece of metal with a wire loop attached. This delicate wire loop is passed through the needle; the thread is passed through the loop; and the threader is then removed, pulling the thread through the eye of the needle. With a little practice the process can be done quickly and easily. Many people also like to use self-threading needles. For hand sewing, these needles are widely available, but self-threading machine needles are more difficult to find. Either means of threading needles is workable. Most sewing machines come equipped with a seam guide to be screwed onto the machine table to the right of the presser foot. Such a guide is most useful to sew a half-inch or five-eights-inch seam or hem. These guides can generally be purchased separately if desired, and other types of guides are also available. Some blind people like to put tape on their machines as guides. Some people find they can guide the material by keeping one finger on the edge of the material and another finger on the presser foot. For top-stitching or very narrow seams—such as are often recommended for sewing knitted fabrics—the presser foot is the best guide for most people. Regardless of the kind of sewing guide used, the procedure is the same. Just determine where the edge of the fabric should be in relation to the needle and the guide; then keep it there as the needle moves under the presser foot. To make a good-looking garment, one must be a good ripper. To rip, one needs to feel the threads of the seam to be ripped and get the point of a standard ripper under the stitches. If the fabric is lightweight or knitted, this can be delicate work. Again, practice will prove that ripping need not be a problem to a blind person. Then what should be said for patterns and cutting? Picking patterns and fabric depends on getting someone to serve as a reader or adviser and getting that individual to give you the information wanted in shopping. A blind person may need to have a sighted person cut off the extra tissue paper around the pattern pieces. Then the blind person merely needs to cut the fabric around the edge of the pattern. It may be helpful to put masking tape around the edges of the pattern pieces to make the cutting line more tactile, but many blind people are able to cut out their fabric without this added step. An experienced seamstress can identify the different pieces of the pattern by their various shapes. The beginner needs to learn to do this. Then it is possible to pin on the pattern, cut it out, and put it together with no more sighted help than is given at the time of trimming the pattern. Darts and other markings, if needed, can be marked with pins, tape, or by cutting out a pattern for the dart itself from another piece of paper. In guiding the scissors when cutting out the garment, most people have found that one can be more exact by curving the left hand (assuming you are a right-handed cutter) over the top blade of the scissors, thumb and fingers coming together at the edge of the tissue pattern between the blades of the scissors when the scissors are open. It is really a simple means of following the edge of the pattern as you cut. Generally, this method enables the blind person to do a neater job of cutting than can be done with the left hand guiding the scissors from beyond the tip. Sometimes labeling thread for color can be a problem. One unique solution to this problem is to obtain pill bottles with large tops from your local pharmacy and stick Braille labels on them. Braille labels glued to the spool of thread itself will be pushed off by the spindle if the spool is put on the machine. With confidence and a bit of imagination blind people can sew whatever they wish with very little assistance. We know many blind people who make their own clothes. As we discussed earlier, you may very well develop your own methods which will work better for you. Good luck as you proceed with your sewing. Cooking A cook who becomes blind still has a lifetime of experience and knowledge. There is no reason for a blind person to be frightened of a hot stove, electric mixers, sharp knives, or anything else in the kitchen. Accidents occur because of carelessness, whether the cook is blind or sighted. In most situations no special equipment is necessary. All that is needed is to use your other senses well and learn a few techniques which will start you thinking about other ways that you can do things and will save you time. Here are a few suggestions: *It does not hurt food to touch it if your hands are clean. *When pouring beverages, you may place your finger over the lip of the cup to tell when it is full, or after some experience you will be able to estimate the amount of liquid and can check this by lifting the cup or glass to see how heavy it is. *You may want to do some of your mixing, such as for cookie dough, by hand. This way you can be sure that all of the ingredients are mixed thoroughly. *You may use a combination of touch, cooking time, and your sense of smell to determine if something is done. A simple technique in dealing with hot food is to touch it with a paper towel over your fingers. *You can turn the heat down under a skillet when you are turning meat in order to prevent grease from popping. *Sets of metal measuring cups (one for each measurement) may be used for both dry and liquid ingredients. *For measuring liquids by the teaspoonful, we suggest that you bend the measuring spoon so that the bowl is at a right angle to the handle; keep each liquid ingredient in a wide-mouthed jar, so that the bent spoon may simply be lowered into it and then lifted out full. *If a recipe calls for a measured amount of boiling water, we suggest that you measure the water before heating it. If you use the water immediately when it begins to boil, the evaporation loss will not be significant. *Oven and burner dials may be marked with tactile markings if they do not have obvious features such as clicks or notches. These may be marked for you by filing small notches, applying actual Braille dots or glue dots. You will not want to mark every temperature setting. Many cooks prefer to mark only two or three points which are most frequently used such as 350 degrees and 425 degrees. The same concept can be use for microwave dials, thermostat dials, and washer and dryer dials. *For grocery shopping, you may ask a clerk for assistance in finding items. You should have a list prepared before you go to the store, however, to save time for everyone. You may want to pick out your own fresh fruits and vegetables so you will get what you want. *If you know Braille, you can label your canned goods with Braille. If not, you can separate your canned goods by location, by size, or by whatever other method may work for you. *Braille, cassette, and large print cookbooks are available. Check with your library for the blind about these. You may also want to record some of your own favorite recipes. These are just a few suggestions about techniques. As we stated earlier, there is no one right way to accomplish these tasks. There are probably as many ways to do these things as there are people doing them. What is important is that blind people and family members understand that there are ways—generally very simple ways—of doing the things they want and need to do. Repairs around the house, yard work, hobbies, and many other activities not mentioned are being performed by blind people all the time. Many blind individuals enjoy woodworking or cabinet making and use whatever hand tools and power tools they have available to them. Fishing, bowling, dancing, and many other sports are enjoyed by blind individuals. Whatever activities you enjoyed before losing your vision, you will very likely continue to enjoy. You may need to think about how you can continue to enjoy these activities. As with anything else covered in this book, other blind people are your best source of further information. We are also happy to answer any further questions which you might have. SPECIALIZED PRODUCTS FOR THE BLIND There are a number of groups, organizations, and companies which sell and distribute specialized tools, aids, or appliances for the blind. You may contact them for catalogs or information. Four of the most prominent ones are: MATERIALS CENTER National Federation of the Blind 1800 Johnson Street Baltimore, Maryland 21230 (410) 659-9314 AIDS UNLIMITED, INC. 1101 North Calvert Street Baltimore, Maryland 21202 Voice/TTY (410) 659-0232 TECHNOLOGY FOR<R>INDEPENDENCE 529 Main Street Boston, Massachusetts 02129 (617) 242-7007 BLAZIE ENGINEERING 105 East Jarrettsville Road, Unit D Forest Hill, Maryland 21050 (410) 893-9333 There are a great many companies and organizations which specialize in a single product or a particular piece of computer technology that might be of help to the blind. For information about such matters contact the International Braille and Technology Center for the Blind, located at the National Center for the Blind, 1800 Johnson Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21230, (410) 659-9314. LARGE PRINT AND MAGNIFICATION Eyesight is regarded as such an important part of our everyday life that we may have the tendency to try to use it far beyond the point that it is efficient for us. We are also so used to using our sight that it is hard to imagine how we would accomplish many tasks without it. Therefore, when eyesight fails to the point that we cannot read regular printed material, it is only natural that our first response would be to find something that will magnify the print. There is nothing wrong with this approach as long as we use common sense and make sure that we are being efficient in our methods. Let's look at this example. You, as a sighted person, were able to read print at 300 words per minute. Now, you need to use a hand-held magnifier, and you can only read about fifty or fewer words a minute. Is this efficient for you? To read a book, no! To read a short piece of personal correspondence, maybe. What you should do will also depend on whether your sight is likely to diminish further. You don't want to purchase some expensive magnifying device which will not work for you in six months. You are not alone in your search for a good magnifier. Many people would like to find a magnifier that would help them get around their particular eye problem. There are, however, so many specialized magnifiers available, no one could possibly prescribe the best one by mail. Let us start with some general information on magnifiers that you may find useful. Whenever an article such as a book is magnified, the amount of material which can be seen at one time decreases. It is possible to magnify a book so that each letter is two inches high, but only a few letters can be magnified at a time. A general rule of thumb is that the greater the magnification becomes, the smaller the area which can be magnified. In other words, using a magnifier will never be as simple and smooth as reading without magnification. If you have not already done so, you should ask your eye care specialist to refer you to a good low-vision clinic. A good clinic will have examples of most common magnifiers. You should examine them under conditions which are as similar as possible to the conditions in your home. Some centers will permit patients to take magnifiers home for a 30-day trial period. You should consider using alternative methods for doing some of your pleasure reading. If you can get books which interest you on tape, you can use your eyes for reading mail and other things which are not available in recorded form. That will tend to reduce eye strain. To locate the library which provides recorded books in your area, contact your local public library or your state rehabilitation agency for the blind. One source of optical aids and magnifying devices is Donegan Optical Company, Inc., (913) 492-2500. As you may have discovered, however, it is very difficult to determine if a magnifying device will be of any help to you without having the opportunity to see it first. Therefore, we would strongly recommend that you visit a low-vision clinic and try some devices rather than ordering from a catalog. There are some materials which are commercially available in large print. A number of libraries for the blind also distribute large print books. Those libraries which do not handle large print directly usually can refer patrons to sources of large print material in their community. Most public libraries have a small collection of large print books. They can order other titles for you by borrowing them from other public libraries. The New York Times publishes a large print weekly summary of its columns and features. You can order it by writing the New York Times directly. Reader's Digest and Guideposts also publish large type editions. The Reader's Digest Large Type Edition is available by contacting P. O. Box 241, Mount Morris, Illinois 61043; telephone (815) 734-6963. The magazine subscription is currently available for $8.95. There is also a weekly large-type news magazine entitled The World At Large. For further information please contact The World At Large, P. O. Box 90330, Brooklyn, New York 11219, (718) 972-4000. You may also want to request the free catalog available from The Large Print Book Club, G. K. Hall & Company, 70 Lincoln Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02111. If you want to buy books, check with your local bookstore. Most of the bookstores carry a few large print titles. They also have catalogs from publishers and can order books especially for you. Unfortunately, large print books are often expensive. We hope these resources will be helpful. For a comprehensive list of materials which are available in large print, contact the National Library Service for their reference circular entitled "Reading Materials in Large Type." This circular is available free of charge from the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, 1291 Taylor Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 30542; telephone (202) 707-5100 or (800) 424-9100. EYE DISORDERS Approximately 800,000 people in the United States are legally blind, and each year 50,000 more will become blind. Over half of all people who are legally blind are 65 years of age or older. The following is a list of eye disorders which may result in blindness. This is certainly not a complete list, but is meant to give very basic information about some of the most common causes of blindness. For specific questions about any of these or any other eye disorders, we urge you to seek the services of a competent eye care specialist. Cataracts The lens of the human eye is comparable to the lens of a camera or magnifying glass, and for obvious reasons it needs to be transparent and free of flaws. The development of what are called cataracts, or opacities and clouding of the eye's lens, blocks the passage of light through the eye. Various forms of cataract make up one of the leading causes of blindness in this country today. Although some cataracts are congenital (present at birth), the likelihood of developing them increases with age. Chemical changes in the lens and diabetes have also been associated with development of cataracts, and chemical burns and heredity may cause them. Like the majority of eye conditions, they are not contagious. Cataracts are not painful. In fact the only symptom as far as the patient is concerned is from very slight to virtually total interference with vision. Dimmed, blurred, or double vision or a need for frequent changes of glasses may indicate the presence of cataracts. Reading in dim light and glare may be a problem for persons with cataracts. Driving at night may become very difficult. Not all cataracts require surgery, some being small enough that they do not seriously affect vision. For those large enough to cause visual problems, medication usually does not help; and the only effective treatment is surgery to remove the affected lens, implantation of an intraocular lens, and the subsequent wearing of conventional eyeglasses or contact lenses. Much progress has been made recently in the development of improved forms of cataract surgery. The likelihood of regaining useful sight is generally very good. Convalescence from the surgery is faster and safer than ever before. In fact, many cataract surgeries can be done on an outpatient basis now. Diabetic Retinopathy This eye condition, a very common complication of diabetes, rivals glaucoma and cataracts as a leading cause of blindness in this country. Its incidence is rising as a result of the increased life span of diabetics. The likelihood of retinopathy increases with the length of time a person has had diabetes. Long-term diabetes often brings about changes in the tiny blood vessels in the retina (the lining of the back of the eye). There are two forms of diabetic retinopathy. The milder form, background or nonproliferative retinopathy, is the more common. It involves development of microaneurisms in retinal capillary blood vessels, which usually do not cause serious vision loss. A relatively small number of diabetics develop the more severe, or proliferative, form of retinopathy, which can cause blindness. With its onset new, abnormal blood vessels may be formed; blood vessels may become engorged with too much blood and burst, or the retina may break loose from the back of the eye. In addition to the direct interference with vision caused by these events, blood from the burst vessels enters the vitreous (jelly-like) part of the eye and makes it cloudy instead of transparent. Modern medical treatment administered as early as possible in the course of the disorder can often slow the course of diabetic retinopathy. Laser treatments sometimes can seal or "weld" broken blood vessels or seal a detached portion of the retina back into place. Photocoagulation treatment consists of scattering hundreds of small, quick flashes of intense laser light across the retina in order to seal or dry up new blood vessels. It must, however, be undertaken before there is bleeding into the vitreous or detachment of the retina. Although in many cases these kinds of treatment are wholly or partially unsuccessful, the techniques are continually being refined. Medical science does not yet fully understand just what characteristics of diabetes bring about retinopathy. Although good adherence to a diet, regular administration of insulin, and o |