October 2008 Issue

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From Mira Wilson, Calgary, Canada:

For years I put up with extreme headaches and sore eyes. Ophthalmologists told me there was nothing wrong with my eyes.

A friend of mine had eye surgery, and discovered a link between having her eyes removed and a reduction in headaches. She
strongly encouraged me to pursue this.

After exploring all my options, I had evisceration surgery done on both eyes Dec. 13, 2007. By saving the sclera to hold the implant, I now have movement of my prosthesis. Prior to my surgery, my eyes moved all the time, and I had absolutely no control. I wore dark glasses, but I don't now.

I have gone from being extremely anxious and uneasy about such a procedure to wishing I'd understood this connection years ago. I'm happy to say my headaches are considerably reduced. I don't miss the sore eyes, and it's amazing how that pain transferred even into my neck. I've been told by several people that my facial appearance looks more relaxed. There's no point in my going on about wishing I had done this sooner. I share this in case there are others enduring silently this kind of pain, and to let them know this surgery might be worth exploring.

On a final note, while I could never have done this for cosmetic reasons alone, I couldn't fault someone if he or she did. The benefits of the appearance of the prosthesis is truly another upside for this procedure.

I chuckled at Charles Biebl's August letter because my solution about ironing is not to own one. I purchase clothes requiring no ironing, or that I take out of the dryer damp to reduce wrinkling. Why make life complicated with such an onerous task?

I enjoyed Karen Marshall's poem in the August Readers Forum. I understand her comments about not embracing technology as enthusiastically as others. I feel that way sometimes myself, because often it's overrated. No point in fighting technology too much, though. Holding back will just add to our frustrations.

From Faye Berube, Fall River, MA:

I have just read Karen Marshall's poem, "Voice Mail." I smiled when I read it and smile again whenever I think of it. In fact, I am going to type it up for my husband. Often I have heard him at the phone trying to reach someone who can give him needed information. He usually starts the procedure by pressing one and so forth, but then resorts to language unbecoming a gentleman, and finally puts the telephone receiver back in its cradle--not too gently. He is very disgruntled and thoroughly dissatisfied.

We are sorry that Karen had to accept the International Exchange Commission's value for her winning entry. The poem was certainly worth the full $30. Be comforted, Karen. Many of us have enjoyed your poem, and that adds to your winnings.

From Fred Gissoni, Louisville, KY:

In the July issue, Amelia Skipper cited the saddle stylus and braille slates with pins in the front portion of the guide as inventions we could have done without. This is her opinion, and she certainly is entitled to it.

I would like to take the opposite position. I'm not trying to start World War III, I just want to give people something to think about.

I find the saddle stylus extremely comfortable when writing long documents with a slate. With my index finger between the two knuckles at the end of the handle, the stylus is in the vertical position, and I can get proper downward pressure with relatively little effort. It took a bit of getting used to at the start, but the effort was well worth it.

To me, slates with pins pointing down toward the table, rather than upward, offer some advantage. It is possible to read quickly what has been written without having to take paper out of the slate. Again, because it departs from what some of us were taught as children, it may be a bit hard to swallow, but it is not a bitter pill.

Ms. Skipper says that, with pins pointing down, there is no easy guidance to keep paper straight. I submit there is. Stand the slate on its edge with the two plates open wide enough for paper to slide between them. Slide the paper so that its edge is toward the hinge and snap the two plates together. In this way, all four corners of the front portion of the slate fasten to the page. The surface of the table is an excellent guide for keeping paper and top edge of slate lined up.

If one uses a six-line 19-cell slate, one can make "accordion paper." Such sheets make handy pocket note sheets and can be loaded and kept in a slate for quick access. The crease between each slip of this fan-fold paper makes an excellent guide for the edge of the slate.

Whether one is using a talking calculator or an abacus, slates with pins pointing downward are handy for jotting partial results that can be read and added to if necessary.

I once showed someone the technique of standing a slate on edge for loading paper. He said that he wasn't taught that way in school. Neither was I taught that way. Sometimes, the things we are taught in school can serve as points of departure for us to use and, with some thought and experimenting, modify to meet our needs.

From Lucia Marett, New York, NY:

In the June issue, Mildred Frank made suggestions with respect to labeling. She said that MaxiAids had a Voxcom labeling system. She later stated that an aide can label grocery items for the blind person, and that Blind Services "should subsidize an aide." My comment is to grab that word "should" and toss the word out the window.

It is a good thing I do as well as I do, because there were people in my life who actually showed me specific ways to do things. Today, it seems to me that the rehabilitation agencies would just throw blind people a "home attendant" or "aide" or throw them what I call inacccessible-ride.

I was tremendously impressed with Tim Hendel's August comment wherein he mentioned that Governor Paterson does not use braille or a mobility aid. I also do not wish to speculate as to why, but I will say that, unfortunately, many people in our society believe that it is an accomplishment if no mobility aid or braille is used. While the average man on the street does not know how these aids assist vision-impaired people with independence, I strongly feel the media should want to be educated, and should want to know better. We as vision-impaired persons have to do more than take a "what-can-you-do" attitude. We have to get aggressive in changing the minds of the sighted public about this!

I have to say that I agree wholeheartedly with Jake Joehl, who stated in the August issue that nothing is being done about our underemployment/unemployment rate. It has not gotten better; it has gotten worse. He is right that the organizations of blind consumers are not doing enough about this.

They are also not doing anything about technology, which is priced way too high. It is fine to concentrate on a Louis Braille commemorative coin. But issues such as unemployment and other forms of discrimination and prejudice should be addressed.

When will blind people stop making the presumption that unemployment among people in the blind community is 70 percent? It's 84 percent, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, Department of Labor, and Social Security Administration, 2005. There is a conspiracy of silence about employment discrimination. And this volunteerism has to go! No one gets a paying job through volunteerism.

This is why blind people today are living below the poverty level. I am one of the lucky ones, but wish to secure a promotion. I can't even get that. Most of these blind conservatives are working for agencies that purport to "serve" blind people. There is no job placement to speak of.

When will conservative blind people realize that the Americans with Disabilities Act has not helped us? Who decides what are "reasonable accommodations?" Is it really an "undue hardship" to hire us? The ADA has not really helped vision-impaired people; it has helped the deaf community and those with other disabilities. The 504 Rehabilitation Act has helped us, as has Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act. To an extent, section 255 of the Telecommunications Act has helped, but not with respect to rendering appliances and point-of-sale machines accessible. Blind people must familiarize themselves with laws.

If it is true that many blind people hold unrealistic expectations about jobs they can do, then what is the function of rehabilitation counselors? What do the SRC administrators do?

There is a conspiracy of silence, with respect to the American Foundation for the Blind and other agencies not helping in active job placement. These mentors at AFB either had their jobs prior to onset of vision loss or work for agencies that "serve" the blind. So many blind people can do so many jobs, but are not allowed. This is the real problem that needs to be addressed.

Although many times all we have to do is educate the public about our abilities and disabilities, there is also another contingent in our society: those temporarily able-bodied sighted people who, in no way, wish to be educated.

From Hugh Pharis, Conyers, GA:

In response to remarks in August by Jake Joel, I would like to use two old adages: "The more things change, the more they stay the same" and "Same old, same old."

I can well recall my senior year in high school when a VR counselor tried to talk me out of pursuing a college education, saying that I would never make it as a teacher. Well, I did go on to college and was treated as any other student on campus in both classes and extra-curricular activities. But the odd thing was that, six weeks after having enrolled in school, another VR counselor had the brass to come on campus and have me called out of an education class to meet with him and the dean. His purpose? Once again I was asked if I wouldn't like to drop out and go to work in a workshop environment. When he tried to get the dean to agree with him, the school official plainly told him that I was treated no differently than sighted students, and if I wished to stay, the school would do all to help me realize my goal of becoming a teacher.

Even after graduation and eventually securing my first teaching position, still a third VR counselor came and asked me to sign a document claiming they had helped me secure the job. Nothing was farther from the truth--for I had secured that job with the help of friends with quite a bit of clout in that county. I went on to teach in both elementary and secondary schools throughout my home county school system for 20 years before retiring.

Blind people must persist in trying to reach our desired goals, whatever those goals may be. It's not impossible to achieve them. As far as the rehab services, take whatever financial help they may offer. But don't hold your breath until they buck the establishment and help you to get that desired position.

From a reader in Hawaii:

I have searched the Internet for jobs where I can work from home, but I found information that said to be wary of those kinds of jobs, as they are scams. Does anyone know where to find legitimate work-at-home job listings? Also, do any readers know of staffing companies similar to NTI, the National Telecommuting Institute? Please respond to Readers Forum with this information.

From Phyllis Lackershire, Richland Center, WI:

I wrote to the Association of Blind Citizens in Massachusetts seeking an application for their high-tech grant program. I found out by default--an ad in another magazine--that they are likely not going to give me an opportunity, since they require applications to be submitted online. This discriminates against those of us who simply cannot afford any high-tech equipment on a fixed income. Some of us also do not wish to entrust our personal financial information to people we don't know.

I am frustrated and very disappointed in the changes in our precious braille code made mandatory by Braille Authority of North America (BANA). Which braille readers are agitating for these changes? The braille system was never intended to resemble print, and it never can. It was intended to give blind people a reading system of their own. I find some of the new symbols silly and counterproductive. Most blind people don't know what a crosshatch in print is or its purpose. The termination sign preceding the apostrophe looks ridiculous. What follows it, usually an s, is sitting out in space too far from its related word or name. The letter sign before the s following numbers and so forth also looks wrong. Most of these new symbols take up far more space, making braille more--not less--bulky. I'm disappointed in BANA for forcing these changes on us. Also, some sighted transcribers are co-opting and corrupting braille to suit themselves. We braille readers aren't messing with the print system. The six-dot cell limits braille dot configurations to a finite set of combinations. Some signs and symbols just have to be recycled and read in context.

They totally changed the braille music notation system before I got out of school. But luckily for me, I didn't have to struggle to learn the new way. Please don't do that with literary braille.

From Cynthia Groopman, Long Island City, NY:

I was really pleased and delighted to read about the National Federation of the Blind's commemorative coin to honor the 200th birthday of Louis Braille. It is high time that the United States Mint decided to produce a coin honoring the man who gave the blind throughout the world liberty and literacy. This coin will be the only one that will feature embossed braille code letters on one of its faces. All of the coins thus far are distinguished by the blind by their weight and size. To us, this is truly a symbol of independence, and it also puts braille in the forefront. The picture showing a young boy reading a braille book with a white cane on his arm shows that the blind at a young age can achieve two independent skills, literacy and mobility. These are two valuable assets that make us part of the world. No longer can we be viewed as handicapped and helpless.

I also applaud the NFB's campaign to increase the number of young people who are braille literate by 2015. This is a must, since few children who are blind are learning braille. With mainstreaming, there is no time or need for blind children to learn braille and no professionals to teach it. With technology and computers that can read, the educators think that there is no need for braille. How wrong these people are.

Braille opens the door of literacy, with grammar, syntax and reading independently, and of course being able to make lists and other written materials, such as journals and notes.

I learned braille as a blind adult at 39, and consider it a blessing. It has given me the opportunity to take notes at meetings at work, at board meetings of my synagogue, to correspond with deaf-blind people, and to write a journal and speeches. I also am able to read my scripture in English and Hebrew braille at services.

Louis Braille would have been given the Nobel Prize if he were alive today for his work in helping all blind people to advance. Braille was the most important aspect of Helen Keller's life, and she was a staunch advocate of the code.

I love audio books, and my Reading Edge and computer with voices, but nothing can replace the feeling of curling up with a braille book on a lazy, hazy day of summer or reading a braille magazine at break time at work. The sighted have print and we have braille, and may braille thrive in the garden of literacy. To me, the unveiling of the coin July 4th showed our liberty, freedom and independence as a group of people who are capable and just happen to be without sight. I also applaud the Hadley School for its braille courses and for teaching braille through correspondence.

The legally blind and partially sighted should also be taught braille just in case sight is lost in later life. It is easier to learn braille as a child. God bless braille and Louis Braille, the first blind pioneer.

From Roy McCutcheon, Ephrata, PA:

I wanted to say how wonderful it was to meet the editor of the Ziegler at the American Council of the Blind convention in Louisville. We were able to talk for just a few minutes, but it was so wonderful to put a voice behind the pages--since I get the braille edition.

This was my first convention, and I came home so happy and hopeful and filled with such wonderful memories. I urge all those who can to attend either an ACB or NFB convention at some time or other. I didn't go to any of the convention sessions. I just took tours and had fun socializing and playing the piano in the hotel's conservatory. Wow, it was great!