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.”
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