Future Reflections

The National Federation of the Blind
Magazine for Parents and Teachers of Blind Children

The big surprise at the 2002 Convention was the unveiling of the new NFB logo—Whozit. Whozit is a stylized representation of a person striding with determination, leading the way with a cane that represents freedom and advancement. Pictured above is a tactile replica of Whozit—one of thousands that were passed out at the convention. When printed in full color, Whozit is a combination of gold, red, blue, gray, and purple. The cover of Future Reflections was redesigned to harmonize with the dynamic image conveyed by Whozit. The blue is the same blue used in the color version of the logo; and the three figures—representing a blind child and his or her family—are created from the Whozit design elements. The figures are also a graphic depiction of the magazine’s name: children will reflect our values and our expectations; what we believe about blindness and what we do about it in the raising and educating of our blind children does matter.

The National Federation of the Blind
Magazine for Parents and Teachers of Blind Children

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Schedule of NOPBC-Sponsored Events for Parents, Teachers, and Youth at the 2003 NFB Convention

UPS Delivers More Than Parcels! Braille Readers Are Leaders Celebrates 20th Anniversary

NFB Hosts Public Release of Touch the Universe: A NASA Braille Book of Astronomy

by Cathy Bailey, OT; Rosemarie Lakawicz, PT; Toni Vidro, Head Teacher; and Linda Zani Thomas, Parent

2003 NFB National Convention

BACKGROUND

The 2003 convention will be the largest meeting of the blind to be held anywhere in the world in the year 2003. The Convention is the supreme authority and policy-making body of the National Federation of the Blind and voice of the nation’s blind.

MEETINGS

Plenary sessions will be held in the Grand Ballroom located on the second floor of the East Tower of the Galt House Hotel beginning on Tuesday, July 1, and continuing through Friday, July 4. During these sessions, all attendees assemble in state delegations much like a political convention.

PROGRAM

NFB conventions give government representatives, agency administrators, and leaders in politics, business, and industry the opportunity to address and respond to a large nationwide audience primarily of individuals who are blind or visually impaired. The topics of interest include: relevant civil rights issues; current issues and trends in the education of blind children; rehabilitation of the blind for competitive employment; specialized library services for the blind; advancements in technology; and other timely topics.

BANQUET

The convention includes a large, well-attended banquet to be held in the Grand Ballroom at the Galt House Hotel beginning at 7:00 p.m., Thursday, July 3^rd. The program for the evening will feature an address by NFB President, Marc Maurer. The banquet program will also include the presentation of over $100,000 in scholarships to thirty outstanding blind students. Banquet tickets may be purchased at convention registration.

CONVENTION REGISTRATION

The registration fee is $15, and registration will open Sunday, June 29, at 9:00 a.m. Please note that the various NFB divisions and committees may charge additional fees for the seminars, workshops, receptions, and other related activities which they sponsor before and after the convention plenary sessions. These workshop or seminar fees should not to be confused with the convention registration fee.

AGENDAS: Convention agendas are available when you register for the convention. Agendas are available in Braille, cassette tape, disk, and large print. Pre-convention agendas for the Saturday, June 28, events will be available on the NFB Web site and in print and Braille at the NFB Information Table in the Galt House hotel lobby.

HOTEL RATES

Special room rates for those who attend and register for the 2003 National Federation of the Blind convention are as follows: singles, twins, and doubles, $57.00 a night; triples and quads, $63.00 a night. All quoted rates are subject to a tax, which at present is 12.36 percent. A deposit of $60 is required when you make your reservation. To make room reservations contact the Galt House Hotel at (502) 589-5200 and tell them you are with the NFB convention. The address of the Galt House Hotel is 140 N. Fourth Street, Louisville, Kentucky 40202.

CHILDCARE

During convention week children between the ages of six weeks and twelve years are invited to join in the fun and festivities of NFB Camp. NFB Camp offers more than just childcare; it is an opportunity for blind and sighted children to meet and develop lifelong friendships. The camp schedule is filled with games, crafts, and special performances designed to entertain, educate, and delight. Pre-registration is required. For more information about fees, hours, etc. contact Carla McQuillan, NFB Camp Coordinator, 5005 Main Street, Springfield, Oregon 97478. Telephone (541) 726-6924.

MORE INFORMATION

For additional information about meetings, schedule, hotel, etc., contact the National Federation of the Blind National Office at 1800 Johnson Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21230, telephone (410) 659-9314. Information is also available on the NFB Web site at <www.nfb.org>.

The exhibit hall is a popular convention attraction. The Budney family from Michigan—Brian, Cindy, and daughter Rebecca—take a break from their perusal of the 2002 exhibits to pose for the NFB photographer.

Face painting is one of the more popular booths at the convention’s Braille Carnival. At the 2002 Braille Carnival, Zack Erickson of Georgia tries to hold still while Jennifer Smith paints on his name in Braille dots.

Dr. Marc Maurer presides at the NFB Convention behind a podium bearing the new NFB logo, Whozit.

Crystal McClain of Ohio looks on while daughter, Macy, examines a tactile illustration at the Technology in the Classroom workshop conducted by Bruce McClanahan and Debbie Hartz.

Venona Thomas, President of the NFB of Alaska, give the report for her delegation during the 2002 roll call of states.

Schedule of NOPBC–Sponsored Events for Parents, Teachers, and Youth at the
2003 NFB Convention

Every year brings wonderful new opportunities for learning, networking, and having fun at the NFB Convention! 2003 will be no exception. The following is a brief description and schedule of the convention activities that will be sponsored by the National Organization of Parents of Blind Children. Please remember that the NOPBC events represent only a very small portion of the total convention activities. More details about the convention are available elsewhere in this issue.

If you preregister and mail payment by June 1, 2003, you may take $5 off your fee. The fee includes NOPBC membership; lunch for your family on Saturday, June 28; and all the NOPBC sponsored activities described in this schedule of events. It DOES NOT include NFB convention registration, which is $15 per person (adult or child), or NFB Camp (childcare) fees.

Saturday, June 28

On Saturday, June 28, the National Organization of Parents of Blind Children (NOPBC) kicks-off the convention with a full day of activities for the entire family. The day’s events (all of which take place in the Galt House Hotel) include:

An all-day seminar for parents and teachers

The theme for the June 28, 2003, NOPBC seminar is Transition to Independence. From infancy to young adulthood, children go through many transitions; some of which are developmental—the “terrible twos,” puberty—and some cultural—the transition from preschool to kindergarten, the move from elementary school to middle school, high school graduation. Transitions, in this sense, are biological or cultural points at which children take a leap forward in maturity, autonomy, self-realization, and independence. Naturally, these transition points are junctures of great opportunities and great peril for children. In this seminar we will explore the elements that make it possible for blind children and youth to navigate these transitions successfully. Our program will feature a mix of blind adults, teachers, parents, and blind youth who will share experiences and provide practical suggestions. Whatever the age—zero to twenty-one—of your child or student, there will be lots of good information and inspiration for you at this seminar. Registration begins at 8:00 a.m. The seminar begins at 9:00 a.m. with a short program for the entire family. The program breaks at 9:45 a.m. to allow time for parents to take their children to the Braille Carnival, NFB Camp, or other youth workshops, and then resumes at 10:30 a.m. and continues until the lunch break at noon. The afternoon program resumes at 2:00 p.m. and adjourns at 5:00 p.m.

Braille Carnival

This popular activity, coordinated by Melody Lindsey of Michigan, is for children, sighted or blind, ages four and up. Volunteer Carnival Buddies, under the direction of educator Robin House, are available to supervise the kids for two hours of games, crafts, and other fun Braille-related activities. The carnival booths are sponsored by NFB affiliates and other organizations that come to participate in the convention. The volunteer carnival buddies are recruited from within the NFB membership.

Small group lunches

This year, NOPBC is sponsoring small lunch groups in the East Tower Hotel Suites. At registration your family (including kids not registered for NFB Camp) will be assigned a room to go to for a casual lunch with other families from your state or region of the country. Your host or hostess will be a NOPBC board member, state president, or other leader in the organization. NOPBC will provide sandwich buffet and drinks in each room.

Childcare

The workshops described below are just that, workshops; they are not childcare services. NOPBC does not sponsor childcare services at the convention. The childcare service at the convention—NFB Camp—is provided by the National Federation of the Blind through the volunteer efforts of Carla McQuillan. The NFB Camp is open all-day (including lunch) on Saturday, June 28, for eligible children. For more information about fees, hours, etc. contact Carla McQuillan, NFB Camp Coordinator, 5005 Main Street, Springfield, Oregon 97478. Telephone: (541) 726-6924.

WORKSHOPS FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH

Because we want this day to be a learning experience for the entire family, NOPBC is also offering some great activities and workshops for older children and youth, including sighted siblings, on Saturday, June 28. Although the plans for the activities and workshops are not fully finalized as we go to press, here is what we currently plan to offer:

Learn skills and techniques in managing and caring for children. Certificate awarded. Workshop leader: Carla McQuillan, NFB Camp Director and owner/operator of Children’s Choice Montessori School, Portland, Oregon.

There’s more to taking good notes than you think. This workshop combines instruction and tips on taking notes in class with a Q&A session about electronic notetakers. You must bring your own electronic notetaker. Slate users also welcome—bring your own slates. Workshop Leader: Ann Taylor, blind adaptive technology expert, International Braille and Technology Center for the Blind.

Blind or sighted, competent Braille user or novice, this workshop will increase your knowledge and skills in Braille. You’ll do fun activities from the Braille Is Beautiful Curriculum Program, work in small groups, make tactile books for blind babies, and work on other Braille service projects. Workshop Leader: Angela Wolf, President of the National Association of Blind Students (NABS).

Think you’d like to be a writer? Bring your writing tools, creativity, and enthusiasm with you to this workshop conducted by successful blind writers, educators, and authors. Workshop Leaders: Robin House, Sheila Koenig, and children’s author Deborah Kent-Stein.

Ever wonder what it would be like to teach cane travel to blind people? Ever considered being a rehabilitation counselor or a teacher of blind kids? Competitions, prizes, and the hands-on activities in this workshop makes exploring careers in blindness fun and interesting. Workshop Leader: Anil Lewis, rehabilitation job specialist and blind leader of the NFB of Georgia.

Two groups, one for teen men and one for teen women. Engage in guided discussions about dating, grooming, making friends, being comfortable in social situations, relationships with parents, and other topics of importance to teens.

How can blind people learn about astronomy and the universe? Noreen Grice, author of the NASA book, Touch the Universe: A NASA Braille Book of Astronomy; and Dr. Bernhard Beck-Winchatz, Assistant Professor of Astronomy, NASA Space Science Center for Education and Outreach at DePaul University, will help kids and adults discover the answers to those questions during this program sometime Saturday. Mark Riccobono, Director of the Wisconsin School for the Blind will help coordinate and moderate the program. At this program, parents will be able to see and purchase the Touch the Universe book.

At the conclusion of the workshops scheduled during the day, the leaders will bring the kids to the seminar room to join the parents and other adults for a final session. Together, we will hear from the youth leaders and the kids themselves, what they did and what they learned in their workshops.

NOPBC Family Hospitality

Relax and chat in an informal atmosphere with other parents, teachers, and blind adults while your kids roam and play around the tables. There will be some door prizes and a few mixer games, but mostly this will be an unstructured evening where you can network with others. While parents will be responsible for the supervision of their children at hospitality, NOPBC will provide toys, books, and/or a play station to help keep your little ones happy and occupied while you talk.

Sunday, June 29

Cane Walk: This workshop will begin with a brief discussion of why the NFB promotes the use of the long cane with the metal tip, early use of the cane, and the value of blind instructors. It will conclude with an overview of the difference between the discovery method and traditional O&M instruction. After the introduction, parents, teachers, and kids will be issued a cane and sleep shades (blindfolds), and then teamed with a volunteer instructor for a “cane walk” through the hotel. Volunteer instructors are recruited from current and former students of the Louisiana Tech/Louisiana Center for the Blind O&M program as well as other experienced volunteers at the convention. A special session will be held for parents of babies, toddlers, and preschoolers.

Sponsored jointly by NOPBC and Blind Industries and Services of Maryland (BISM). All teens are invited to drop-in anytime at this room for games and music, or just to hangout with other teens. Supervised at all times by BISM counselors.

Monday, June 30

Parent Power: NOPBC Annual Meeting. Keynote address by the 2003 Distinguished Educator of Blind Children, roll call of POBC affiliates, updates on educational issues, committee reports, and elections.

20^th Anniversary Reception and Reunion
in Honor of the Braille Readers Are Leaders Contest

co-sponsored by the National Association to Promote the Use of Braille and the National Organization of Parents of Blind Children

Come and help celebrate twenty years of promoting Braille through the Braille Readers Are Leaders Contest! There will be lots of FREE food, wonderful displays, great fellowship, a Braille book flea market/exchange, and a brief but inspiring program at 6:30 p.m. reviewing the accomplishments of the Braille Readers Are Leaders Contest. Donations from the Braille book flea market will be used to establish a permanent Braille Readers Are Leaders Reunion and Mentorship fund. Immediately following the program, NAPUB will conduct their annual program, at which a formal Braille Readers Are Leaders Mentors group will be established. Bring the whole family. Stay for the NAPUB meeting. All Braille enthusiasts are invited, but former contestants and winners are extended a special invitation. About 15 scholarships are available for current and former contest participants to attend the celebration. For more information, see the article on page 11 [UPS Delivers More Than Parcels!] in this issue.

Tuesday, July 1

IEP’s, Transition Plans, Rehabilitation Services, and IDEA. A workshop about the educational rights of blind and visually impaired students with a special emphasis on transition issues. When does transition begin? What is a good transition plan for blind youth? What is the role of state rehabilitation services while kids are still in school?

Wednesday, July 2

The following workshops will take place the afternoon of Wednesday, July 2, sometime between 2:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. Some of the workshops will repeat, some will be drop-in sessions, and the Beginning Braille workshop will be an intensive two- to three-hour session.

· Kids and Canes: WHEN (should a child get one)? WHO (should teach it)? WHAT (type of cane should a child get)? HOW (long should the cane be)? HOW MUCH (instruction is enough)? WHAT ABOUT (sleep shades, folding canes, cane tips, partially sighted kids, etc.)?

· It Takes More Than A Good IEP: Creative Ways to Improve Your Child’s Educational Services

NOPBC 2003 Activities Preregistration

Fees: $10, one adult, no children; $15 one adult, children;
$25, two adults, children

Adult Name(s). Please include first and last name of each adult and indicate if the adult is a parent, grandparent, blind parent, teacher, other relative, etc.

If yes or undecided, please list names and birth dates of child(ren); reading mode (Braille, print, large print, non-reader); and brief description of characteristics of which workshop volunteers should be aware. Examples: Mild autism; wears hearing aid; has ADHD; shy— doesn’t talk to strangers.

Finally, check the workshops your child may be interested in attending. Please note the age restrictions. The lower limit on the Braille Carnival is firm. The age limits on the other workshops may go up or down by a year or two depending on circumstances. Youngsters over eighteen who are still in high school may also participate in the appropriate workshops. Please copy this form or add a sheet of paper if you need space to register more children.

CHILDREN

1. Name & birth date_____________________ Reading mode________________________ Characteristics________________________

2. Name & birth date_____________________ Reading mode________________________ Characteristics________________________

Please copy this form or add a sheet of paper if you need to register more children

Every year, we say our upcoming national convention is going to be better than our last one. There is always something new to surprise and delight us. This year is no exception. We are pleased to announce that at the 2003 NFB Convention, on Monday, June 30, we will be celebrating the 20^th anniversary of the NFB Braille Readers are Leaders Contest.

For twenty years the Braille Readers are Leaders Contest, co-sponsored by the National Organization of Parents of Blind Children (NOPBC) and the National Association to Promote the Use of Braille (NAPUB), has strengthened literacy, increased Braille reading speeds, and brought the joy of reading Braille to over a thousand blind children nationwide.

To mark the accomplishments of these twenty years, NOPBC and NAPUB have planned a reception at the Galt House on Monday, June 30, between 5:00 and 7:00 p.m. There will be enough free food and beverages to assuage any appetite, a Braille book flea market (more about that later), displays, and a brief, but lively, program from 6:30 to 7:00 p.m. Although anyone who attends the 2003 convention is welcome to attend the reception, a very special invitation is extended to contest participants (past and present) and their families.

So, where does UPS fit into this? Over the past several years, UPS has partnered with the NFB to promote Braille literacy and other access to information programs, such as NFB-NEWSLINE®. UPS has also provided many courteous volunteers at our national conventions who know how to give appropriate assistance and directions.

Now, the UPS Foundation has provided the NFB with a Braille Readers Are Leaders expansion grant. These funds will allow us to make the anniversary event the beginning of many annual reunions, and it will also fund some innovative new elements (such as a mentorship program) to the Braille Readers Are Leaders program. However, once we have these programs off the ground, it is our task to fund them and keep them going. And that’s where the Braille book flea market comes in!

The Braille book flea market is your opportunity to share those loved but no longer read Braille books with others, and, for a small donation, to find new treasures as you browse tables of Braille reading matter at the anniversary reception on Monday, June 30. Donations generated by this project will help us fund future Braille Readers Are Leaders reunions and activities. So start gathering those Braille books and if you don’t want to pack them in your luggage, please contact me (Sandy Halverson, see below) for information about where you can ship them in advance.

Finally, the UPS grant makes it possible for us to offer travel and lodging stipends to the anniversary event to a limited number of former Braille Readers Are Leaders contest participants. Priority for consideration for stipends will go to those age 19 and older who are willing to be a Braille mentor to younger Braille readers and their families at the convention.

There is a country song with a phrase that goes something like this, “I was country when country wasn’t cool.” Twenty years ago when the Braille Reader’s Are Leaders Contest was inaugurated, Braille wasn’t cool. We have come a long way, but we still have a long way to go. Mark your convention calendars for June 30, and come help us celebrate our past successes, and an even brighter future for Braille literacy.

For more information about the Braille Readers Are Leaders anniversary celebration, the Braille book flea market, the mentorship program, and/or the travel stipends, please contact Sandy Halverson, President, Virginia Association to Promote the Use of Braille at (703) 379-1141 or sandyh2@earthlink.net.

Family needed for a 7-year-old girl from Asia! The World Association for Children and Parents (WACAP) is seeking an adoptive family for Pathamon, an affectionate little girl who loves her trampoline! Pathamon was born blind and with hearing loss in both ears. In January 2002 she had surgery for her hearing, which is reported to have improved dramatically since the surgery. The caregivers at the orphanage are eager for her to have parents of her own. They care deeply about her and are concerned whether they can do everything possible to help her reach her full potential.

For more detailed information, please contact WACAP’s Family Finders Team at 206-575-4550 or <familyfinders@wacap.org >. WACAP will mail her photos, video and medical information upon request. Financial assistance is available for the adoption of this child.

NFB Hosts Public Release of Touch the Universe:
A NASA Braille Book of Astronomy

NFB President Dr. Maurer welcomes guests and the media to the National Center for the Blind to celebrate NASA’s release of Touch the Universe (poster on back wall depicts the book cover).

On November 21, 2002, the National Federation of the Blind hosted NASA’s public release of the much-anticipated sixty-four-page book, Touch the Universe: A NASA Braille Book of Astronomy. Some thirty blind students from five states (Maryland, Colorado, Michigan, New York, and Washington) attended the event. The students were delighted with the full-color, tactile, large print, and Braille embossed book of fourteen photographs taken by the Hubble Telescope. They were a little awed, too, to meet the book’s author, Noreen Grice, and other VIPs from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) who sponsored this special event. On the same day, another event marking the release of the book took place on the DePaul University campus in Chicago. Students from the Wisconsin School for the Blind and the school’s director, Mark Riccobono, joined Dr. Bernhard Beck-Winchatz to celebrate with him the completion of the project he had dreamed up.

In the vernacular of today’s youth, Touch the Universe—A NASA Braille Book of Astronomy is “awesome.” I highly recommend it for literate blind students of all ages. The well-written scientific content, incredible tactile images, crisp Braille, easy-to-read large print, and stunning color photographs combine to create a book that is as beautiful as it is informative. It truly belongs in the home of every blind student, and on the bookshelves of every library, school, or other institution that serves blind and visually impaired students.

Following are several photographs of the Baltimore event hosted at the National Center for the Blind (the national headquarters of the NFB), a press release describing the development of Touch the Universe, and a review of the book by Carol Castellano.

Here’s how you can order the book: Touch The Universe: A NASA Braille Book of Astronomy is available from National Academies Press for $35.00, plus $4.50 for shipping and handling for the first copy and $0.95 for each additional copy. The book can be ordered by mail or by Internet. To order online, go to <www.jhpress.org>. To order by mail, send your request, your mailing address, and check or money order made payable to National Academies Press, to National Academies Press, 500 Fifth Street, NW Washington, DC 20055.

Several officials from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) took part in the event. Pictured from left to right are Mr. Courtney Stadd, NASA chief of staff and White House liaison; NFB President Marc Maurer; Dr. Edward Weiler, NASA associate administrator, Office of Space Science; and Dr. Kent Cullers, blind radio astronomer and director of the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, R&D, SETI Institute. Other special guests at the event (not pictured) were Mr. Al Diaz, director of the Goddard Space Flight Center; Dr. David Leckron, Hubble Space Telescope senior scientist; Mr. Charles T. Horner III, assistant administrator, Office of Legislative Affairs (NASA); And Dr. Steven Beckwith, director of the Space Telescope Institute.

Ben Wentworth (right) science teacher at the Colorado School for the Deaf and Blind, and (left to right) students Terry Garrett and Paul Clarke describe testing the prototype images created by Noreen Grice.

Students who in the past have not been able to experience some of NASA’s spectacular discoveries now have a unique opportunity to touch the stars. Some of the most majestic space images from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope are now part of a special Braille book that combines tactile illustrations with striking images of planets, star clusters and nebulae, as viewed by Hubble.

The book, Touch the Universe: A NASA Braille Book of Astronomy, is the brainchild of Bernhard Beck-Winchatz, an astronomer and faculty member at DePaul University, Chicago. He undertook the project to allow visually impaired students the same opportunities as those who are sighted to engage themselves in space science.

Teaming up with astronomer and author Noreen Grice, Beck-Winchatz developed this much-needed space science resource book for the blind with a $10,000 Hubble Space Telescope grant for education programs.

In 1999, Grice published Touch The Stars, a book with touchable pictures based on drawings of constellations, comets, galaxies and other astronomical objects. “I was fascinated by Grice’s book,” recalled Beck-Winchatz. “I thought it would be intriguing to create similar tactile pictures based on real Hubble Space Telescope images, but I didn’t think this could possibly be a new idea. There are 10 million visually impaired people in the United States; it seemed outrageous that these resources would not be available before now.”

Grice, who is based in Boston, originally began experimenting with techniques to make astronomy more accessible for the visually impaired more than fifteen years ago after having observed a group of blind visitors at the Charles Hayden Planetarium in Boston. Ever since that experience, she has worked on ways to make science more accessible to the blind and other people with physical challenges.

Touch the Universe, Grice developed clear tactile overlays for each image. The overlays were sent to Benning Wentworth, a science teacher and astronomy enthusiast at the Colorado School for the Deaf and the Blind in Colorado Springs. His students evaluated each image for clarity and provided important suggestions for needed changes.

“Based on the students’ comments, I was able to revise the images and make aluminum master plates,” said Grice. With the final plates, plastic overlays were produced in a heat vacuum, or thermoform, machine. The tactile thermoform pages, placed in front of the color HST images, make these images accessible to readers of all visual abilities.

The book is for middle school students, high school students, and adults alike and is expected to attract the attention of mainstream educators, a number of whom already use Grice’s first tactile book in science classes. Four hundred copies will be printed in the first run, and the book will sell for slightly above production cost so earnings can offset future updates and production of a second edition.

For Beck-Winchatz, helping to create such a valuable resource tool has been rewarding. “Scientists often live in ivory towers,” said Beck-Winchatz. “It is only through partnerships like this that we get to share what we are doing. However, educational endeavors like this one require money. The grants for education from NASA’s Office of Space Science allow us to branch out of pure science and use some of the results of research to affect the lives of the general public and, in this case, the blind and visually impaired.”

In the large conference room at the Center, students were able to examine copies of Touch the Universe. Here Dr. Maurer and Amy Herstein of Maryland examine an illustration together.

Blind astronomer Kent Cullers explains some fine points of astronomy to Washington state student, Chris Micelli,, as they peruse the book together.

Karl Martin Adams of Michigan is clearly delighted as he inspects his copy of Touch the Universe. Dad, Walter, who is a scientist, seems just as pleased as Karl.

Ann Taylor (center), staff member of the International Braille and Technology Center for the Blind (IBTC), demonstrates the Tactile Image Enhancer Junior to a group of students from the Maryland School for the Blind and the Baltimore City public school vision program. All guests at the day’s event were given the opportunity to tour the IBTC and the National Center for the Blind.

Many parents and teachers of blind and visually impaired children have been excitedly awaiting publication of Touch the Universe: a NASA Braille Book of Astronomy, after receiving word of the gala publication event held at the National Center for the Blind in Baltimore. This wonderful book is now available from The Joseph Henry Press in Washington, DC.

Images of the planets, stars, and galaxies captured by astronomers with the Hubble Space Telescope form the core of the book. These gorgeous full-color images are also beautifully rendered in raised line form. Accompanying each illustration is a brief explanation in large print and Braille. Author Noreen Grice, an astronomy teacher and planetarium educator who also wrote the Touch the Stars books, writes in clear, simple terms easily understandable by children from third grade or so on up. Following each explanation is a brief guide to viewing the tactile image. Grice’s enthusiasm for astronomy and wonder at the universe is evident throughout the book. Wonderful astronomy terms like “local supercluster,” “gaseous nebulae,” and “globular cluster NGC” add to the fun.

The illustrations begin with the Hubble Space Telescope orbiting Earth and proceed farther and farther away from our home planet, all the way to the most distant reaches of the universe ever photographed. How exciting that there is now a way for blind children to get a glimpse of a world they ordinarily would not get to see. I tried the book out on three blind students, a fifth grader, an eighth grader, and a senior in high school. One of the kids almost refused to give it back to me! I am sure blind adults would also appreciate and enjoy the book.

If you’ve ever marveled at the size and complexity of the universe and if you’d like to awaken or nourish that wonder in your child, be sure to get this book.

Braille Is Beautiful is a disability awareness curriculum for sighted students in grades four and up. It is a fun program with workbooks for the kids, videos, tons of handouts, word games, exercises, and ideas for Braille service projects. It has everything a regular classroom teacher or youth leader needs to show sighted students how to read and write simple Braille letters and numbers.

Schools, libraries, youth clubs, and community service organizations will want to know about this wonderful and fun educational program. For a short time you can order different Braille Is Beautiful packages of materials, videos, etc. at rates beginning as low as $25 (plus shipping and handling). To order, or to request more information, go to <www.nfb.org> and click on “Why Braille is Important,” or call the National Federation of the Blind at (410) 659-9314.

No, the IMAA legislation did not pass in the 107^th Congress. But, we are back again this year, stronger than ever! The following is a letter written by IMAA sponsors Thomas E. Petri ® of Wisconsin and George Miller (D) of California to their colleagues in the House of Representatives. Two days after the letter below was written, on January 29, Petri and Miller introduced H.R. 490, the Instructional Materials Accessibility Act (IMAA). As we go to press, the bill already has 42 cosponsors. It is crucial that you contact your representative and urge that he/she sign onto the bill as a cosponsor. The more cosponsors on the bill, the more likely it will get out of committee and go to the floor for a vote. We anticipate that by the time you get this issue Senator Christopher Dodd (D) of Connecticut will have introduced a companion bill in the Senate. For more information about the IMAA and what you can do to help, please contact

This week, we will reintroduce the Instructional Materials Accessibility Act (IMAA), bipartisan legislation to ensure that blind and other visually impaired students will receive textbooks in a usable format at the same time as all other students. The IMAA (H.R. 4582) attracted broad support from 88 cosponsors in the 107^th Congress.

Currently, it is the exception rather than the rule that blind students have access to textbooks for a given class at the beginning of the school year. Because of the cumbersome process needed to translate a textbook into Braille or other specialized format, it often takes months for the blind student to have the same materials as his or her sighted peers, by which time only a heroic effort can save this student from being hopelessly behind in class. Although states have the obligation under IDEA, ADA, and other federal statutes to provide equivalent educational opportunities to disabled and non-disabled students, it has become apparent that specific and practical standards need to be put in place to anticipate accessibility needs in this area. This legislation will streamline the materials acquisition process in a number of ways. Specifically, the bill:

· establishes a national electronic file format for instructional materials. Conversion into an electronic format is a necessary step in the process of creating a Braille or other accessible version of a textbook. However, the twenty-six states that currently require publishers to provide electronic copies of textbooks have no agreed-upon file format, which drives up costs for publishers and often results in unusable electronic files provided, while doing nothing to reduce the 6-month period needed for production of the specialized textbook;

· establishes a national clearinghouse to provide “one-stop shopping” for local school districts to acquire the needed materials (estimated cost: $1 million annually);

· requires publishers to provide a copy of each textbook in the national electronic file format to the national clearinghouse mentioned above;

· requires statewide plans to ensure that students who are blind or visually impaired have access to instructional materials in formats they can use at the same time the materials are provided to all other students; and

· authorizes capacity-building grants to assist state and local educators in using electronic files supplied by publishers (authorized at $2.5 million annually).

Last Congress, the strong support and great need for this legislation prompted the Department of Education to fund the development of a voluntary standardized electronic format for specialized instructional materials. Once completed, this national file format would implement a significant piece of the IMAA. However, a national file format by itself will not solve all the problems which cause delays in the delivery of textbooks to visually impaired students. That is why this legislation is still needed. The IMAA has been endorsed by the Association of American Publishers, the National Federation of the Blind, the American Foundation for the Blind, and many other organizations representing the visually impaired. To cosponsor please call Jason Delisle at __ (Petri) or Ruth Friedman at __ (Miller).

Reprinted from The Courier-Journal, Louisville, Kentucky, Thursday, July 4, 2002.

Editor’s Note: The following article (with one exception) is an excellent summary of the afternoon program of the annual parents’ seminar sponsored by the National Organization of Parents of Blind Children (NOPBC) at the 2002 NFB Convention in Louisville, Kentucky. The theme of the seminar was The Serious Work of Play. The program began at the Galt House Hotel with a general session for parents and a Braille Carnival for the kids (sighted siblings, too). At noon, families were bused to the nearby campus of the Kentucky School for the Blind for lunch and a full afternoon of activities—as described below—for the entire family.

Unfortunately, The Courier-Journal article failed to mention the key role played by the Louisville-based Visually Impaired Preschool Services (VIPS). The VIPS staff organized and conducted wonderfully creative, interactive play-stations for babies, toddlers, and preschoolers for that afternoon. The Treasure Hunt, the Peek-a-Boo House, the Obstacle Course, the Book Nook, and five other play-stations showed parents how easy it is to stimulate development through play. Ultimately, that was the lesson of the entire day: Play—in all its forms—is as vital to the growth and well-being of blind children as it is to those with sight. Please see the photo report, “VIPS Play Stations Combine Learning, Fun at 2002 NFB Convention,” and reprints of two hand-outs distributed by VIPS at this event—“Recipes For Fun” and “Common Visual Impairments in Young Children”—elsewhere in this issue.

Despite sweltering July temperatures, the outdoor games organized by Debbie Bacon of California, were a popular activity at the NOPBC-sponsored family event at the 2002 convention. Kids played tug of war (above), ran races, and
generally had a grand time.

In a dimly lit room of the Kentucky School for the Blind, Elaine Weisberg stroked a baby doll’s back while a small group of mothers followed along with their own children. The 20-minute session was designed to teach parents of blind or visually impaired children how to relax their children and give them a sense of body awareness, while also relaxing the adults. “It’s really a positive thing for parent and child,” said Weisberg, a certified infant massage instructor in Louisville.

The message session was among several activities at the eastern Louisville school yesterday by the National Organization of Parents of Blind Children, the parents division of the National Federation of the Blind which is holding its annual convention in Louisville.

The convention, which began yesterday and continues through Tuesday, is expected to attract more than 3,000 people to the city. Though most of the convention is at the Galt House, about 200 parents and their children were invited yesterday to the school for an afternoon of activities designed to educate.

“It’s important that these kids…get a good start and that their parents know what’s available for them,” said Cathy Jackson, president of the Kentucky affiliate of the National Federation of the Blind. The event also was a bonding experience for families of blind children. Parents are sometimes isolated and grappling with other health problems the children have.

“It’s hard having a child with different things that if you haven’t experienced it yourself you don’t know what to do,” said Pearl Klein of Louisville, whose son, Tomas, 3, is blind, deaf and has spina bifida. “The best people to talk to are other parents.” Mary Jo Wells of Coshocton County, Ohio, agreed, noting that being able to gather with other parents made her feel less alone.

Both Klein and Wells were among participants in the massage class. Wells, whose son, Adam, 7, has been blind since birth, wanted to find ways to calm him down, while Klein wanted to make her son more comfortable with touch.

Other activities included origami paper art, adaptive physical education techniques, teaching blind children how to cook, a tug of war and sack races.

Many of the sessions were run by blind people such as Barbara Pierce, director of education for the National Federation of the Blind and a mother of three, who taught a class for teen-agers on how to cook.

Without mentors or role models, “they really don’t know what they can be or what they can do,” said Barbara Cheadle, president of the parents group.

Students in the class learned how to make Mexican bean dip and brownies by relying on senses besides sight, such as touch and hearing to aid in cooking. Pierce said it’s important for blind children to learn how to cook because it’s something they’ll need all their lives, and they can share it with their friends. Amy Herstein, 14, of Ellicott City, Maryland, said the class was “extremely helpful” because she loves to cook and learned a lot of great tips. But “most importantly, we got a taste test,” she said before taking a bite of brownie. “Oh, delicious,” she said.

Another student, Valerie Gibson, 15, of Memphis, said she thought the class was fun. At home, she uses a toaster oven to cook pizza and other foods. Her mother affixed Braille labels to the timer so that Valerie can tell how many minutes to set the oven for. It’s one of the many activities she does that makes her feel like any other child, she said, “Most of my friends kind of forget (I’m blind),” she said.

Three-year-old Dylan Sebastian of Alabama is enthralled with the toys at the VIPS Adaptive Play Center.

Mom, Dr. Sylvia Restrepo of Columbia, South America, makes a tactile book for her young son.

Sighted siblings enjoyed the VIPS Play Stations, too. Rose Stockton of West Virginia tackles the obstacle course.

BUBBLES

Mix the first three ingredients in a plastic dish (one with a cover to save for later). Form pipe cleaners into different shapes and attach to unsharpened pencil for a bubble wand.

POKER CHIP BANK

Get an old coffee can and cut a one-half-inch by two-inch slit in the lid. Get some plastic poker chips (about one- and one-half-inches in diameter) to drop through the slit. They will produce a great clinking sound, which will encourage your child to do it again and again. Great fun while working on fine motor skills.

SIDEWALK CHALK

In a five-ounce paper cup, mix two tablespoons temper paint with one-half cup water. Add three tablespoons of plaster of Paris and stir until you have a creamy consistency. Once hardened (several hours), peel off paper cup to produce a giant piece of sidewalk chalk.

PLAYDOUGH

Cook over medium heat stirring constantly until mixture looks like dough. Store in airtight container or plastic bag.

HOMEMADE FINGER PAINT

Combine flour and 1 cup of water and stir until smooth. Add remaining 3 cups of water. Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture thickens and bubbles. Reduce heat. Cook and stir one minute more. Pour into bowls and tint with food coloring. Cover with plastic wrap until cool enough to paint with.

SCRATCH AND SNIFF PAINTS

Mix water and drink mix in a small bowl. Repeat using several different flavors to create different smells and colors to paint with. Paint on chosen surface, and let finished work dry overnight before scratching and sniffing.

PUFF PAINT

Stir together flour, salt, and water. Add several teaspoons of tempera paint. Stir and pour into clean, recycled squeeze bottle. Use paint within two to three days.

ALBINISM

Albinism involves the absence or reduction of pigment in the eyes, skin, and hair. It may affect only the eyes. Effects on vision may include decreased visual acuity, photophobia, nystagmus, and strabismus.

ANIRIDIA

Aniridia is a hereditary condition where the iris of the eye is underdeveloped. The effects on vision include decreased visual acuity, photophobia, nystagmus, cataracts, and underdeveloped retinas.

CATARACTS

A congenital cataract is a hereditary condition in which there is opacity of the lens. The effects on vision include decreased visual acuity, photophobia, nystagmus, cataracts, and underdeveloped retinas.

COLOBOMA

Coloboma is a hereditary condition in which various parts of the eye may be deformed. The effects on vision include decreased acuity, nystagmus, and strabismus.

CORTICAL VISUAL IMPAIRMENT (CVI)

Cortical visual impairment is a result of damage to the vision center of the brain due to trauma, anoxia, or malformation. The effects on vision include decreased acuity, nystagmus, and strabismus.

GLAUCOMA

Congenital glaucoma is a hereditary condition in which the tissue of the eye is damaged from increased intraocular pressure. The effects on vision include excessive tearing, photophobia, opacity or haze on the lens, buphthalmos, poor visual acuity, and constricted visual fields.

OPTIC NERVE ATROPHY

Optic nerve atrophy is caused by damage to the optic nerve. It can be hereditary or may result from trauma, inadequate blood or oxygen supply before or shortly after birth, or hydrocephalus. Effects on vision include decreased visual acuity, decreased central vision, decreased sensitivity in all visual fields, and nystagmus.

ONH is generally of unknown cause. It may appear by itself or in conjunction with neurological or hormonal abnormalities. The effects on vision may include decreased visual acuity, peripheral field loss, poor depth perception, and mild photophobia.

NYSTAGMUS

Nystagmus is an involuntary, rhythmic side-to-side or up-and-down eye movement that often accompanies other visual disorders.

Retinopathy of Prematurity is a condition in which the retinas are scarred due to an unusual growth of blood vessels in the retina and vitreous. This is usually found in premature infants, but may also be found in full-term infants. The effects on vision include retinal detachments, severe myopia, decreased visual acuity, and blindness.

Thirty scholarships ranging in value from $3,000 to $10,000 will be awarded in July at the 2003 NFB convention to blind college, vocational school, and graduate students. Award winners will also be the guests of the NFB at the national convention, and will have the additional opportunity to win four voucher awards for products from Freedom Scientific. At least three of the scholarships will be awarded to students who won NFB scholarships in previous competitions, and one award may be given to an eligible part-time student who is holding down a full-time job. The application must be received by the committee by March 31, 2003.

To request an application contact the Materials Center, National Federation of the Blind, 1800 Johnson Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21230, or <nfbstore@nfb.org>. Applications are also available from college financial aid offices, the NFB Web site at <www.nfb.org>, and from NFB state affiliate presidents and members of the 2003 NFB Scholarship Committee. The applications may be copied as long as both sides of the form are reproduced.

Editor’s Note: If the name “Deborah Kent” sounds familiar, it may be because you or one of your children once read a book she wrote. Ms. Kent makes her living as a writer and is especially known for her fiction and non-fiction works for children and young adults. Although Deborah occasionally writes about blindness or disability, by far the bulk of her work is for, and about, the broader world. Which raises an interesting question: How can a person, blind from birth, know enough about the world in all its rich details and complexities, to successfully write about it? In fact, what is it that allows any blind child to learn enough about the world around them so that they successfully work, play, and live in it as equals with their sighted peers? Deborah Kent Stein tackled that question in a speech she gave at the 2002 NFB seminar for parents and teachers in Louisville. Here is what Deborah Kent Stein has to say about “Another Way of Seeing:”

Our first memories are said to contain themes which remain crucial to us throughout our lives. When I think back, I find that my earliest memories all have to do with touch. For me as a blind child, touch meant seeing—seeing in the widest sense of perceiving and understanding. When I was free to touch things I was in my glory. I was fully connected and involved with my environment, exploring, making discoveries about the world around me. In one of my very early memories I am about two-years-old. My father is lifting me in his arms so I can reach over the edge of a large cardboard box. Inside the box my hands find a pile of warm, wriggling bodies—soft fur, bony heads, wet noses, and curious, lapping tongues. “See?” Dad says. “Fluffy’s puppies! Look!”

In another memory, I am perched on a stool at the kitchen counter while my mother prepares a chicken dinner. Patiently she shows me the cold, plucked bird lying before us. She points out the legs, the wings, the breast, and the place where the head used to be. My hands explore every nuance of poultry anatomy. This is our ritual whenever we have chicken for dinner. I get to look at the chicken.

Not all my early recollections are such happy ones. In another memory, my cousin holds a crayfish captive in a jar. I beg to touch it, but the grown-ups say no. They insist that its claws will pinch my fingers and hurt me. Someone gives me a stick and says I can touch the crayfish with that. But I can’t learn anything about this mysterious creature by probing it with the tip of a stick. I need to study it with my hands, and I am not allowed. I remember bursting into tears of frustration as the grown-ups repeated that the “Don’t touch” rule was for my own good. When I heard the dreaded words, “Don’t touch!” my quest for knowledge was thwarted. I was cut off from meaningful experience. Intriguing portions of the world were forbidden to me, and I was forced into passivity.

Sighted children, too, hunger to engage with the world through touch, though often it is forbidden to them, too. Whether they can touch or not, they can still gather volumes of information through their eyes. The figurines on a shelf, the umbrella leaning in the corner, the heavy drapes that might provide a place for hide and seek—each new object is a source of fascination. Sighted children never stop looking and learning. Blind children need to look and learn too, in their own way—by using their hands. To my immense good fortune, my parents instinctively recognized that though I was blind, I had the same need as any other child to learn about my surroundings. My parents understood that my blindness need not hold me back. My experience of the world could be rich and meaningful through the sense of touch.

My parents realized that I needed plenty of hands-on experience with the everyday objects sighted children take in almost automatically by eye. When I was a toddler my mother made time in her hectic schedule to take me on a walk nearly every afternoon. She showed me split-rail fences, mailboxes, fire hydrants, lawn chairs, birdbaths, and telephone poles. We sat on the ground so I could examine dead leaves, dandelions, toadstools, and acorns. Mom even showed me sidewalks, manhole covers, and curbstones. Nothing was too ordinary for our attention. Everything was interesting and worth inspecting.

Expeditions with my father tended to be more adventurous. Sometimes he took me on walks in the woods, where we crashed through the underbrush, fended off brambles, and got our shoes caked with mud. On other days we explored the construction sites in our suburban development. In half-finished houses I learned that doors and windows fit into frames, and discovered that bathroom pipes descend through holes in the flooring.

My parents had the wisdom to know that for me, as for all children, examining an object once was not enough. Sighted children have endless opportunities to look at trees and fences and bicycles. I needed to reinforce my perception of everyday things by touching them again and again. We stopped on countless walks so I could look at the mailbox—hot to the touch in the summer sun, mounded with snow in February—always the same, yet always new. The inventiveness and unflagging patience of my parents enabled me to create a vast library of tactile images, a mental storehouse of information that has endured and expanded throughout my lifetime. In addition, my parents’ encouragement nourished my natural curiosity. I grew up hungering for firsthand knowledge of the world. I lobbied on my own behalf to touch statues in museums, displays on store counters, and the curios my classmates brought to school for show-and-tell. I trained my friends and teachers not to forget that I needed a hands-on view.

Sight allows for distance learning, and touch is “up close and personal.” But both sight and touch are spatial senses, conveying information about the shape, size, and placement of objects. Touch and sight both show us objects in relation to one another, and convey the principles of cause and effect. Hearing is much more abstract. When a sighted toddler hears an unusual sound she looks around to investigate the cause. A blind child of the same age might hear a whole cacophony of fascinating noises and have no idea what sort of creature or instrument or set of actions is producing the commotion. Sound only becomes meaningful when it is understood within a context, when it is connected to events in the spatial world. Verbal explanations of sounds are wonderful and necessary, but they don’t help much unless the child already has a solid grasp of the basics. Suppose a blind child hears the roar of a bulldozer. His mother explains that a bulldozer is a great big machine that digs a great big giant hole in the ground. Unless the child knows what a machine is, and what digging is, and what a hole is, and has an idea about the relative sizes of things, none of it makes much sense.

In a way, everything I’m saying feels ludicrously obvious. Of course touch is the natural avenue of learning for a child who can’t see visually. But even though you, as a sighted person, grasp this concept intellectually, you may have a hard time taking it in on a real gut level. People who are visually oriented often have trouble moving from a visual frame of reference to a tactile one. As the sighted parent of a blind child, you need to find your way across the psychic divide between visual thinking and what the research psychologist Selma Fraiberg has called “hand thinking.” You need to recognize that hand thinking—forming a mental picture of one’s surroundings through touch—is effective and completely respectable.

To accept hand thinking as fully valid is not as simple as it sounds. It may require you to reflect seriously on your own attitudes toward touch. Touch is generally suspect in our society. It’s the only one of the senses that is consistently prohibited and maligned. To describe the act of searching or exploring with the hands, the English language provides us with the word “grope”—an ugly word freighted with connotations of clumsiness, dullness, and obtuseness.

Touch makes people uncomfortable; it’s a little beyond the sphere of polite society. Touch is associated with breaking things, or even stealing. Children grow up to a steady, relentless drumbeat of “Look, don’t touch! Keep your hands off!” You heard all those warnings, pounding in all those negative messages. Now, for your blind child, you have to uproot those carefully planted fears and prejudices against touch, and think about it in a brand-new way.

Ask yourself some questions. How you feel when your child explores an object with his hands? Are you eager to show him new things? Are you excited by his sense of discovery? Do you sometimes feel frustrated because he takes so long to look at an object tactilely, while a sighted child would take it in at a glance? Are you embarrassed when people stare at your child as he touches a plant, a lamp, a stack of magazines on the table? When he examines a figurine are you on edge, worrying that he might drop it? Do you let him know that you want him to have as many opportunities to touch things as he possibly can? Or do you convey the message that it slows you down to let him stop and look at things, it’s awkward and a bother? One mother of a blind son told me proudly, “We’ve always let him touch things as much as he wants to. Even though it makes us cringe and we want to snatch his hands away, we never stop him.”

The truth is that some people will stare at your child with her exploring hands. Some may frown with disapproval. Sometimes when you ask permission for your child to touch something, that permission will be coldly and unreasonably denied. You will have to be your child’s advocate, working to remove literal barriers so that she can see the things others are looking at.

I want to take a bit of a detour here and respond to a comment that I’ve heard from a number of parents and vision teachers. “Sarah doesn’t like to touch things. When I put her hands on a new toy to show her, she pulls away.” There’s even a term for this in the literature—it’s called “tactile defensiveness.” I believe that the problem stems from the technique called “hand over hand,” in which an adult takes hold of the child’s hand and places it on an object in order to show the object to the child. It seems like a perfectly appropriate way to encourage exploration, but for many children it becomes an issue of control. The adult is grasping the child’s hands, manipulating them, taking charge. Sometimes the adult even moves the child’s hands around on the object in question, trying to point out particular features—all with the best of intentions. I know when people do this to me (it still happens even to adults) I don’t like it. I want to look at things at my own pace, in my own way. I don’t want anyone else to determine where my hands should be.

Instead of bringing the child’s hand to the new toy, try bringing the toy to the child’s hand. With an infant or toddler, touch the child’s hand lightly with the object, tell him what it is, and let him find out about it on his own. As the child learns the pleasures of exploring, he will not need much encouragement. What he will need are time and opportunity.

Sadly, I have met many blind children, teens, and adults whose basic knowledge has been constricted in horrifying ways. I think of a ten-year-old girl, a good student in school, who did not understand how to use a paper fan to fan herself on a hot afternoon. I remember a teenager who had no idea how to use a garden trowel—had no concept of how to dig a hole. I think of a young man who didn’t know that light fixtures are located on the ceiling. When children grow up with such deficiencies in ordinary knowledge, they are at a serious disadvantage in life.

By helping your child explore and learn in her own way, you will give her a lifelong gift. She will know about fans and trowels and light fixtures and tens of thousands of other things around her. She will share in the pool of knowledge that is basic to her peers. That general knowledge base, combined with her desire and ability to seek hands-on experiences, will open countless doors for her as she is growing up. She will be better equipped to take part in games with her friends. She will understand the humor of other children. She will be able to join in her classmates’ mischief, and to dream up pranks of her own. By knowing the world she will be part of the world, and by being part of the world, she will know the world all the more.

All children want to learn, want to reach out and explore on their own. Blind children explore by touch, and file away memories in tactile images. It’s a different way of seeing, but it is seeing in the widest sense.

Melissa Williamson

Editor’s Note: Melissa Williamson shatters more than a few stereotypes. For example, cheerleaders are typically portrayed as cute, perky, outgoing, and—of course—dumb and stuck-up. Well, Ms.Williamson is not, and never has been, either dumb or stuck-up. However, she is still as cute, as perky, as outgoing—and as blind—as she was almost two decades ago during her cheerleading days. Today, Melissa Williamson is an experienced elementary school teacher who puts her talents to use as a board member of the Alabama Institute for the Deaf and the Blind, the secretary of the Birmingham chapter of the Alabama NFB affiliate, and the stay-at-home mom of three delightful children between the ages of two and six. In the following article (which is based on a presentation Melissa made at the 2002 parents seminar) she talks about an ordinary high school coach who had no special training in matters of blindness, but who made an extraordinary difference in her life. Her advice and insights are relevant and timely. Here is what she has to say:

Sometimes as a blind person I get lucky enough to encounter a sighted person who, in regard to the capabilities of blind people, just gets it. I met one of those people in the form of my PE coach in sixth grade. He worked with me from sixth through eighth grade in the public school system where I was mainstreamed. At a time when I didn’t quite get it, Coach John got it.

Up to that point in my life I had been physically active. I was a decent gymnast and I water-skied. I played outside, but I did not participate in team activities, and I did not intentionally modify any sport so that I could play. Therefore, when the coach said we were going to play whiffle ball, which is a game something like baseball for those of you who don’t know, I thought that he meant that “they” were going to play whiffle ball. He didn’t. With some modifications, I played. The coach put people on the bases to call to me so that I would know where to run. He watched my batting swing enough to know where to throw the ball so my bat would actually hit it. I played, and because I played I came to understood how to swing a bat and how to run bases. I understood whiffle ball, I but I still didn’t get it.

When Coach John said we were going to play football, I thought he meant that “they” were going to play football. He didn’t. I learned to pass a football with a sighted guide; I learned to run passing routes, to hand-off the ball, and how to receive a hand-off. By spring of sixth grade, I finally got it.

It was time for those who were interested to prepare for cheerleading tryouts. My friends were interested. I was kind of interested, but I was scared, too. I showed up for the first day of practice. Coach John, who was the cheerleading sponsor, didn’t miss a beat even though he had no idea I was coming. (My mom wasn’t even sure I was going to do it.) As he demonstrated various techniques involved in cheering, he also described them. When he talked about the various positions of hands, he showed me. He explained that jazz hands were splayed fingers. He explained that candle stick hands were hands held up like you were holding candle sticks. He showed me everything I needed to know. When he demonstrated a cheer, I stood behind him with my hands on his arms. As we worked on the cheers in small groups, he came by and corrected our mistakes. He corrected me just as he corrected the others. I made the squad both years that I tried out. Incidentally, Coach John was not one of the cheerleading selection judges.

I experienced full inclusion in my physical education class. My PE teacher understood that alternative techniques were equal for the purposes of education—even physical education. I cannot fully describe how my confidence grew from experiences made possible by this teacher—a teacher who seemed to instinctively understand that blindness is a nuisance, but not an insurmountable tragedy.

Participation in physical activities is crucial for maintaining physical fitness. We all know this. But just as importantly, participation in PE classes on an equal level with peers is a means of achieving self-confidence and, to some degree, social acceptance. Kids who play together early on have shared experiences. These shared experiences (which often turn into shared interests) can spawn friendships as time passes. Furthermore, a blind child gains an experiential understanding of sports and other recreational activities when he or she actively participates in a structured PE program. This can be a social asset in our somewhat sports-obsessed nation. But of most significance is the confidence children can gain from participating in PE. Through physical activities, children—blind as well as sighted—gain coordination; they gain the ability to move their bodies confidently and intentionally to achieve a particular goal. This impacts the way a child carries himself or herself. And, realistically, a child who moves and acts confidently is more likely to make friends and less likely to be a target for bullies.

Additionally, the skills a child gains in PE will be used in many ways, some unpredictable, throughout that child’s life. For example, I learned that when I throw a ball I should point my nose and the toes of my front foot toward the spot I intended the ball to go. It works. I became quite good at trashcan basketball in high school. You know—the teacher leaves the room and the students make paper-wads and throw them at the trashcan. I got good at it. Now I use that same skill to throw baseballs for my own kids so they can practice batting and catching. (To my kids’ dismay, however, I still can’t catch a baseball, and they’ll gladly tell you about that.)

However, more experience is needed in the outdoors than can be gained in a PE class. It’s vital that we give our blind kids the same kinds of opportunities that our sighted kids have. The other day my husband and I took our children to Chucky Cheese for a birthday party. It rained prior to our arrival so as we were walking toward the building across the parking lot, my sons began jumping into every puddle they could find—half-inch deep? Splash! Four-inches deep? Splash! They did not care. I started to stop them, and then I realized that puddles just seem to call to kids. They say, “Jump right in. Splash as far and as high as you can!” Mud puddles call to kids, too, not just water puddles. Mud puddles call to kids to muck about in it and make mud pies. Fences and trees beg to be climbed. Flowers call to be picked. Rocks call to be thrown (particularly if there’s water around). And large open spaces call to kids to run. Our blind kids need to do all of these things—to experience the joys of the outdoors to the fullest.

But for blind kids we must think outside and beyond the traditional outdoor kid play. Blind kids don’t need to have a stick bug described to them; they need to touch it. My experience suggests that that’s what sighted kids want to do anyway. It’s the same for worms, just-caught fish, caterpillars, plants, and anything else that we can imagine for them to touch. Our blind kids need to get messy. They need to get dirty. They need to get wet. They need to experience.

Let me give you a concrete example that will, hopefully, illustrate my point. I’ve heard since I was a kid that giant redwoods in California are huge. I know that these trees can be over one hundred feet tall and six feet or more in diameter. But until I attempted to put my arms around one of these trees, I had no concept of how big a BIG tree really is! Honestly, I still can’t fathom what a one hundred foot tall tree might look like. I said that to my husband last night and he said that we need to go find one for me to climb. (My husband is one of those sighted guys who get it.) There’s no description on earth that can compensate for touch. Touch can make objects real, just as physical education experiences can make sports and concepts of space and dimension real.

We don’t just want to give blind kids the same childhood experiences as sighted kids. We want to—we must—give them more. Sighted kids don’t need encouragement to climb a fence. They climb them because they are there, they see them, and what else are you going to do with a fence if you are a little kid? But our blind kids don’t have that visual incentive, so they might need our active encouragement to climb fences and trees and play with worms. The more experiences they have when they are little, the stronger their knowledge base about the world, and the stronger their confidence. And with this knowledge and confidence, they will eventually be ready to strike out and explore on their own. Certainly this can only help them to be more successful as they grow.

The Skylands School Experience

by Cathy Bailey, OT; Rosemarie Lakawicz, PT;
Toni Vidro, Head Teacher; and Linda Zani Thomas, Parent

It is definitely to the benefit of a child with special needs for learning to have a curriculum developed relative to his levels of development rather than simply providing the materials that are available on the shelves or using a National Curriculum that has been developed for children with special, regardless of what those special needs may be. –Dr. Lilli Nielsen

From the Editor: If there was a Lilli Nielsen fan club, I am sure I would be a member. So, when Linda Zani Thomas asked if I would consider this article for publication, I did not hesitate. Of course, it also helped that I already knew something about Linda. In New Jersey, Linda Thomas is known for her expertise on children who are blind and multiply impaired. She has published several articles on the topic and speaks regularly at workshops conducted by the New Jersey Commission for the Blind and the Parents of Blind Children—NJ; on which she serves as a board member. Linda’s interest in the needs of blind, multiple impaired children began with a passion to help her daughter, Marisa. Marisa is 13-years-old, blind, non-ambulatory (she has cerebral palsy), and she is severely developmentally delayed. She is also, according to Linda, “very independent-minded, outgoing, and adorable!” In 2002, Linda’s daughter, Marisa, was introduced to the Lilli Nielsen’s FIELA Curriculum when her school incorporated the curriculum into their program. According to Linda Thomas, “The Skylands School for the Exceptional is a full-day program of the Passaic County Educational Services Commission located in Ringwood, New Jersey. The school is devoted to providing the finest possible educational experience for children identified as multiply disabled and/or medically fragile.” Here is what the authors, who have worked together at the school for many years, have to say about their experience with the FIELA Curriculum:

The FIELA Curriculum was designed by Dr. Lilli Nielsen, a pioneer in learning techniques for multiply disabled children and creator of the learning approach called Active Learning. Dr. Nielsen has recently been awarded the Knight of the Cross of Danneborg in her native Denmark for her 30 years of research and development of Active Learning. Her techniques and materials, which are known in nations all over the world,

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