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</style> </head> <body> <div id="header"> <h1 class="title">The Braille Monitor,
December 2022</h1> </div> <h1 id="braille-monitor">BRAILLE MONITOR</h1> <p>Vol.
65, No. 11 December 2022</p> <p><em>Gary Wunder, Editor</em></p> <p>Distributed
by email, in inkprint, in Braille, and on USB flash drive, by the</p> <p>NATIONAL
FEDERATION OF THE BLIND</p> <p>Mark Riccobono, President</p> <p>telephone:
410-659-9314</p> <p>email address: nfb@nfb.org</p> <p>website address:
http://www.nfb.org</p> <p>NFBnet.org: http://www.nfbnet.org</p> <p>NFB-NEWSLINE®
information: 866-504-7300</p> <p>Like us on Facebook: Facebook.com/nationalfederationoftheblind</p>
<p>Follow us on Twitter: @NFB_Voice</p> <p>Watch and share our videos:
YouTube.com/NationsBlind</p> <p>Letters to the President, address changes,
subscription requests, and orders for NFB literature should be sent to the national
office. Articles for the <em>Monitor</em> and letters to the editor may also be
sent to the national office or may be emailed to <a
href="mailto:gwunder@nfb.org">gwunder@nfb.org</a>.</p> <p><em>Monitor</em>
subscriptions cost the Federation about forty dollars per year. Members are invited,
and nonmembers are requested, to cover the subscription cost. Donations should be
made payable to <strong>National Federation of the Blind</strong> and sent to:</p>
<p>National Federation of the Blind</p> <p>200 East Wells Street <em>at Jernigan
Place</em><br /> Baltimore, Maryland 21230-4998</p> <p><strong>THE NATIONAL
FEDERATION OF THE BLIND KNOWS THAT BLINDNESS IS NOT THE CHARACTERISTIC THAT DEFINES
YOU OR YOUR FUTURE. EVERY DAY WE RAISE THE EXPECTATIONS OF BLIND PEOPLE, BECAUSE
LOW EXPECTATIONS CREATE OBSTACLES BETWEEN BLIND PEOPLE AND OUR DREAMS. YOU CAN
LIVE THE LIFE YOU WANT; BLINDNESS IS NOT WHAT HOLDS YOU BACK. THE NATIONAL FEDERATION
OF THE BLIND IS NOT AN ORGANIZATION SPEAKING FOR THE BLIND—IT IS THE BLIND
SPEAKING FOR OURSELVES.</strong></p> <p><em>ISSN 0006-8829</em></p> <p>© 2022
by the National Federation of the Blind</p> <p>Each issue is recorded on a thumb
drive (also called a memory stick or USB flash drive). You can read this audio
edition using a computer or a National Library Service digital player. The NLS
machine has two slots—the familiar book-cartridge slot just above the
retractable carrying handle and a second slot located on the right side near the
headphone jack. This smaller slot is used to play thumb drives. Remove the protective
rubber pad covering this slot and insert the thumb drive. It will insert only in
one position. If you encounter resistance, flip the drive over and try again.
(Note: If the cartridge slot is not empty when you insert the thumb drive, the
digital player will ignore the thumb drive.) Once the thumb drive is inserted,
the player buttons will function as usual for reading digital materials. If you
remove the thumb drive to use the player for cartridges, when you insert it again,
reading should resume at the point you stopped.</p> <p>You can transfer the
recording of each issue from the thumb drive to your computer or preserve it on
the thumb drive. However, because thumb drives can be used hundreds of times, we
would appreciate their return in order to stretch our funding. Please use the
return envelope enclosed with the drive when you return the device.</p> <p>Vol.
65, No. 11 December 2022</p> <h2 id="contents">Contents</h2> <p>Convention Bulletin
2023</p> <p>A Tribute to Jacquilyn Billey</p> <p>by Carolyn Dodd</p> <p>Announcing
the NFB 2023 Scholarship Program</p> <p>by Cayte Mendez</p> <p>Understanding the
Orozco versus Garland Appeal and Why It Is Important</p> <p>by Valerie Yingling</p>
<p>We Who Have Multiple Disabilities Also Have a Place in the Movement: Reflection
by and about Krystal Sanford</p> <p>by Norma Crosby and Krystal Sanford</p> <p>What
I Learned from Attending My First National Convention</p> <p>by Judy Rasmussen</p>
<p>Nielsen Gives the Federation More than Ratings</p> <p>by Jenivieve White</p>
<p>Kenko and The Christmas Wreaths</p> <p>by Paul Gabias</p> <p>Social Security
Announces 8.7 Percent Cost-of-Living Adjustment for 2023</p> <p>by Advocacy and
Policy Department</p> <p>A Way to Save when Receiving Public Assistance</p> <p>by
Eric Ochmanek</p> <p>The 2023 Blind Educator of the Year Award</p> <p>by Robin
House</p> <p>Congress Ordered Agencies to Use Tech that Works for People with
Disabilities Twenty-four Years Ago—Many Still Haven't</p> <p>by Ruth
Reader</p> <p>Do You Really Know What It’s Like?</p> <p>by Trevor Tattenberg</p>
<p>The 2023 Distinguished Educator of Blind Students Award</p> <p>by Carla
McQuillan</p> <p>What Do We Do to Help Blind Diabetics?</p> <p>by Debbie Wunder</p>
<p>I am Waiting to Go Blind</p> <p>by Kevin McNally</p> <p>The National Federation
of the Blind of Nebraska Celebrates</p> <p>Blind Equality Achievement Month</p>
<p>by Nancy Coffman</p> <p>NFBCO Celebrates the Completion of its PHD Project</p>
<p>by Peggy Chong</p> <p>Promoting Current Event and Media Literacy with NFB-NEWSLINE:
A Parent's Perspective</p> <p>by Heather Bird</p> <p>Tech Tips</p> <p>by Curtis
Chong</p> <p>Constitution of the National Federation of the Blind</p> <p><em>Monitor</em>
Miniatures</p> <p>[PHOTO CAPTION: Hilton Americas-Houston Convention Center
Hotel]</p> <h2 id="convention-bulletin-2023">Convention Bulletin 2023</h2> <p>There
are plenty of reasons one might travel to Houston, Texas, the fourth most populous
city in the United States. One might visit for the nearly three-week-long Houston
Livestock Show and Rodeo. The city’s vibrant arts scene boasts the largest
concentration of theater seats outside of New York City. And no Houston resident
would let a visitor forget that the city is home to the 2022 World Series Champion
Houston Astros. There is little question that Houston has a great deal going for
it. The city’s real draw, however, is that it will play host to the National
Federation of the Blind’s 2023 National Convention.</p> <p>It has now been
more than fifty years since the largest gathering of the organized blind last
convened in Houston, Texas, and our return in 2023 will be an event not to be
missed. The Hilton Americas-Houston hotel (1600 Lamar Street, Houston, TX 77010)
will serve as our convention headquarters hotel. Situated in the heart of downtown
Houston across the street from the beautiful twelve-acre Discovery Green Park,
the Hilton Americas is an ideal location for our annual event. Ballrooms, breakout
space, and sleeping rooms are all stacked in the same tower housed on a single
city block, simplifying navigation and minimizing travel distances. In-room internet
is complimentary to all attendees as is access to the health club and swimming
pool on the 22nd floor. There are several dining options on the hotel’s
lobby level (including a Starbucks for those of you requiring a caffeine fix) and
many more choices within easy walking distance from the Hilton’s front
door.</p> <p>The nightly rate at the Hilton Americas-Houston is $105 for singles,
doubles, triples, and quads. In addition, the sales tax rate is 8.25 percent, and
the hotel occupancy tax rate is 17 percent. To book your room for the 2023
convention, call 1-800-236-2905 after January 1 and ask for the “NFB
Convention” block. For each room, the hotel will take a deposit of the
first night’s room rate and taxes and will require a credit card or a
personal check. If you use a credit card, the deposit will be charged against your
card immediately. If a reservation is cancelled before Monday, June 1, 2023, half
of the deposit will be returned. Otherwise refunds will not be made.</p> <p>We
have also secured overflow space at the wonderful Marriott Marquis Houston. The
Marriott is only a three-block walk directly across Discovery Green, or attendees
can walk entirely indoors through the George R. Brown convention center, connecting
both hotels on the second level. You will find many of the same amenities at the
Marriott as well as a Texas-shaped lazy river pool. The room rate at the Marriott
Marquis is a slightly higher $119 per night for singles, doubles, triples, and
quads. To book a room, call 1-877-622-3056 after January 1. Again, ask for the
“NFB Convention” block. Similarly, the same deposit and cancellation
policies apply.</p> <p>The 2023 convention of the National Federation of the Blind
will be a truly exciting and memorable event, with an unparalleled program and
rededication to the goals and work of our movement. A wide range of seminars for
parents of blind children, technology enthusiasts, job seekers, and other groups
will kick the week off on Saturday, July 1. Convention registration and registration
packet pick-up will also open on Saturday. Breakout sessions continue on Sunday
along with committee meetings. Monday, July 3, will kick off with the annual
meeting, open to all, of the Board of Directors of the National Federation of the
Blind. National division meetings will follow the board meeting that afternoon
and evening. General convention sessions will begin on Tuesday, July 4, and continue
through the afternoon of Thursday, July 6. Convention ends on a high note with
the banquet Thursday evening so be sure to pack your fancy clothes. The fall of
the gavel at the close of banquet will signal convention’s adjournment.</p>
<p>Remember that as usual we need door prizes from state affiliates, local chapters,
and individuals. Once again prizes should be small in size but large in value.
Cash, of course, is always appropriate and welcome. As a rule, we ask that prizes
of all kinds have a value of at least $25 and not include alcohol. Drawings will
occur steadily throughout the convention sessions, and you can anticipate a
Texas-sized grand prize to be drawn at the banquet. You may bring door prizes with
you to convention or send them in advance to the National Federation of the Blind
of Texas at 1600 E Highway 6, Suite 215, Alvin, TX 77511.</p> <p>The best collection
of exhibits featuring new technology; meetings of our special interest groups,
committees, and divisions; the most stimulating and provocative program items of
any meeting of the blind in the world; the chance to renew friendships in our
Federation family; and the unparalleled opportunity to be where the real action
is and where decisions are being made—all of these mean you will not want
to miss being a part of the 2023 National Convention. To assure yourself a room
in the headquarters hotel at convention rates, make your reservations early. We
plan to see you in Houston in July.</p> <p>[PHOTO CAPTION: Jacquilyn Billey]</p>
<h2 id="a-tribute-to-jacquilyn-billey">A Tribute to Jacquilyn Billey</h2>
<p><strong>by Carolyn Dodd</strong></p> <p><strong>From the Editor: This contribution
from Carolyn is one I feared we might not get, and if we had not, the tribute that
appears here might never have come about. Jacquilyn Billey was very active in the
80s and early 90s, but finding someone who felt they knew her well enough to do
justice to her work was difficult.</strong></p> <p><strong>Carolyn Dodd spent most
of her life as a teacher, but when she decided to change schools, she encountered
discrimination and turned to Jacquie and the NFB. Carolyn has been retired for
about eighteen years, but she continues by teaching English as a second language
and helping those new in the country to study for and pass their tests to become
citizens. When I asked Carolyn for a picture, she said she did not want this to
be about her but about Jacquie, so here is her article:</strong></p> <p>Jacquilyn
Billey left us on April 10<sup>th</sup> of this year. Her joyous, selfless spirit
caused her to give immeasurably to the National Federation of the Blind. Jacquilyn
hailed from Wentworth, South Dakota, where she grew up on her family farm, chewing
corn [on the cob], milking cows, and watching the crops grow.</p> <p>Her first
job, at the age of twelve, was working as a switchboard operator at the Wentworth
telephone office. She graduated from South Dakota State University. Her fearless
energy and ambition took her to New York City where she worked as a teacher and
earned a master’s degree in special education at Hunter College. It was
there in the early 60s that she met John Billey. They were married in 1963 and
became the proud parents of two daughters, Andrea and Sarah. Jacquie taught in
Newark, New Jersey, throughout the sixties.</p> <p>In the 1970s, the Billeys moved
to Connecticut where Jacquie initiated and directed a program to train and prepare
adults with intellectual disabilities for employment. Consequently, many of these
adults worked in mailrooms, cafeterias, supermarkets, etc., as successful
employees.</p> <p>It was in 1971 that the National Federation of the Blind of
Connecticut came into existence. I met Jacquie in the early 80s. I was genuinely
struck by her engaging, exuberant presence, and we became fast friends. We had
many telephone conversations and group meetings. There was no email, Facebook, or
texting back then.</p> <p>Jacquie was president of the Connecticut Affiliate of
the National Federation of the Blind from 1984 to 1990. She tirelessly oversaw an
extensive fundraising and awareness effort that helped members through scholarships,
learning Braille, cane travel, attending college, going to state and national
conventions of the National Federation of the Blind, and obtaining needed equipment
for their education and careers.</p> <p>Many of us in the Federation attended and
testified at hearings at the Connecticut State Capitol to promote and support
legislation which would improve opportunities for the blind. We did so in Washington,
DC, annually, where we met with our US senators and representatives for the same
purposes.</p> <p>Jacquilyn visited almost every state in the country, building
chapters for the Federation where none existed. This was her mission as she
travelled extensively with her white cane—sometimes a challenge but always
a symbol of independence.</p> <p>Jacquilyn received the Jacobus tenBroek Award
from the National Federation of the Blind in recognition of her dedication,
sacrifice, and commitment on behalf of the blind of our nation.</p> <p>In the
early 1990s, Jacquilyn was ready to set down roots again and took a position as
a regional coordinator at the Roswell office of the Commission for the Blind in
New Mexico. She worked tirelessly to support blind people in their education and
career plans. She also embraced the culture of the Southwest, cooking with Hatch
chili peppers and listening to the opera in Santa Fe.</p> <p>Finally, I would like
to express my devotion and in particular my gratitude for the support that I
personally received, as did so many others, when an attempt was made to deny me
a teaching position I had been offered. Jacquilyn Billey and the National Federation
of the Blind arranged for an advocate to accompany me at a meeting in Hartford,
Connecticut. When my qualifications and experience were reviewed, they were
accepted. Words cannot adequately explain how affirming the Federation’s
support was to me again. My blindness was not an obstacle.</p> <p>Although I write
this in sadness and grief in the loss of a loyal and devoted friend, fond memories
are forever of one who gave her all to our beloved National Federation of the
Blind.</p> <p>----------</p> <p>[PHOTO CAPTION: Cayte Mendez]</p> <h2
id="announcing-the-nfb-2023-scholarship-program">Announcing the NFB 2023 Scholarship
Program</h2> <p><strong>by Cayte Mendez</strong></p> <p><strong>From the Editor:
Many volunteer jobs in the NFB are as taxing and as demanding of time as fulltime
employment. One of them is chairing our scholarship committee, and Cayte does a
wonderful job of remaining calm, cool, and compassionate in the performance of
her duties. Here is her announcement about the 2023 Scholarship Program with the
promise of a longer article to come early next year:</strong></p> <p>The National
Federation of the Blind is pleased to announce our 2023 Scholarship Program. We
offer thirty $8,000 scholarships to blind students who will be at least eighteen
years of age by July 1, 2023. Students may apply if they reside in the fifty
states, the District of Columbia or Puerto Rico, and will be enrolled in a full-time
accredited post-secondary degree program during the 2022-2023 school year. All
scholarships will be awarded at our 2023 National Convention, which will take
place in Houston, Texas, from July 1 to 6, 2023.</p> <p>The application period
begins December 1, 2022, and closes at midnight EST on March 31, 2023. Go to <a
href="http://www.nfb.org/scholarships">www.nfb.org/scholarships</a>. To apply
during the four-month open period: read the rules and the submission checklist,
complete the official 2023 Scholarship Application form (online or in print),
supply all required documents, and request and complete an interview with an NFB
affiliate president. Remember, the only way to win is to apply!</p> <p>----------</p>
<p>[PHOTO CAPTION: Valerie Yingling]</p> <h2
id="understanding-the-orozco-versus-garland-appeal-and-why-it-is-important">Understanding
the Orozco versus Garland Appeal and Why It Is Important</h2> <p><strong>by Valerie
Yingling</strong></p> <p><strong>From the Editor: Valerie coordinates our legal
activities and her extension gets mentioned more in most national reports to
affiliates than any other number. Here is what she has to say about a very important
case in which the NFB is involved:</strong></p> <p>Can both federal employees and
members of the public with disabilities avail themselves of the full panoply of
rights and remedies provided, either explicitly or implicitly, by Section 508 of
the Rehabilitation Act, 29 U.S.C. § 794d, including the right to file a civil
action for injunctive relief?</p> <p>In other words, do blind people have the
right to advocate and file suit when federal agencies fail to provide accessible
information and technology? On Tuesday, October 18, a panel of three federal
appellate judges heard oral arguments regarding that question in the National
Federation of the Blind-supported case, Orozco v. Garland, a case that stemmed
from an inaccessible workplace for a blind federal employee.</p> <p>The outcome
of the appeal will affect more than employee rights, however. When so much of our
lives are spent online, and completing even the simplest of tasks requires
technology, barriers to federal information and technology limit not only employment
prospects of the blind but our basic dignity and status as first-class citizens.
Members of the public rely on federal information and communication technology
(ICT) for no shortage of reasons—including paying taxes, monitoring Social
Security benefits, and planning a visit to a favorite national park. Federal
employees also rely on federal agency ICT for any number of reasons—including
to perform their job duties, interact with colleagues, complete agency trainings,
and apply for promotions.</p> <p>The oral arguments made on Tuesday, October 18,
2022, were critical for many reasons:</p> <p>Attorneys argued the implications of
Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act—the law requiring that information
and communication technology developed, procured, maintained, or used by the
federal government be accessible to federal employees with disabilities as well
as members of the public with disabilities.</p> <p>Attorneys argued what rights
disabled people have when a federal agency does not use accessible information
and communication technology. As referenced above, this appeal hinges on the
question of whether an individual with disabilities has a right to file a complaint
in federal court when federal technology is inaccessible.</p> <p>The 2019 Orozco
v. Wray complaint details the access barriers present for one federal employee in
one federal agency. Multiply this by the number of blind individuals in the United
States, and you can understand the depth and weight of this case. In October 2021,
a judge ruled that Section 508 is not enforceable through a private lawsuit. The
National Federation of the Blind disagrees with this decision—Section 508
describes both who can take enforcement actions and against whom enforcement can
be taken. We were eager and empowered to hear counsel argue how Section 508 includes
a private right of action for individuals. And we hope you were able to join us
the morning of October 18, either in person or virtually, to listen to this critical
debate. We will carry more as the case progresses.</p> <p>---------- </p> <p>[PHOTO
CAPTION: Norma Crosby]</p> <p>[PHOTO CAPTION: Krystal Sanford]</p> <h2
id="we-who-have-multiple-disabilities-also-have-a-place-in-the-movement-reflection-by-and-about-krystal-sanford">We
Who Have Multiple Disabilities Also Have a Place in the Movement: Reflection by
and about Krystal Sanford</h2> <p><strong>by Norma Crosby and Krystal Sanford</strong></p>
<p><strong>From the Editor: In late September I got a call from a woman wanting
to write an article for the <em>Braille Monitor</em>. She thought that readers
should hear directly, or at least as directly as possible, that the <em>Monitor</em>
is important for folks with disabilities in addition to blindness. She also wanted
us to know what a transformative force the Federation and its members have been
in her life. Here is what she and Norma have written:</strong></p> <p>Krystal
Sanford is a force of nature and the epitome of a great Federationist. Despite
her multiple disabilities, Krystal participates in every Federation event she
possibly can. She does volunteer work for an area animal shelter and is active in
Special Olympics. She never uses the fact that she is on a walker, has hydrocephalus,
is legally blind, and has a speech impairment stand in the way of doing what she
needs to do in life.</p> <p>Krystal has been a member of the Lone Star Chapter of
the National Federation of the Blind of Texas for several years. She has participated
in our advocacy efforts by attending the 2021 Washington Seminar. She talks to
anyone who will listen about the great job her chapter does at recruiting rural
members, and she is always eager to volunteer to distribute Federation materials.</p>
<p>We often talk about high expectations in the Federation, and Krystal has high
expectations for herself, and as anyone who has met her knows, she expects others
to toe the line as well. She is an avid user of NFB-NEWSLINE®, and is always
anxious to let our Texas NEWSLINE team know when we aren’t measuring up to
her high standards.</p> <p>She is a beloved part of our Federation family, and we
look forward to years of her presence in our community.</p> <p>“I love
being a part of this group and having people to talk to about what we are doing
and what we are going to do. I enjoy reading the <em>Braille Monitor,</em> and I
am excited to be one of the people who has multiple disabilities and has decided
to say to readers just how important you are to me and how important I want to be
to you. I want to make this an even better organization, and I thank all of the
people who care about me and let me care about them too.”</p> <p>----------</p>
<h2 id="what-i-learned-from-attending-my-first-national-convention">What I Learned
from Attending My First National Convention</h2> <p><strong>by Judy Rasmussen</strong></p>
<p><strong>From the Editor: This article is reprinted from the <em>Braille
Spectator</em>, a publication of the National Federation of the Blind of Maryland.
Here is the way the article was introduced:</strong></p> <p>[<strong>Editor's
Note: Judy Rasmussen, secretary of the NFB of Maryland, also serves as the co-chair
of the NFBMD Ambassadors Committee. This committee is charged with providing
first-time convention attendees with orientation to the numerous convention
activities and mentorship.]</strong></p> <p>After two years of attending virtual
national conventions, most of us were ready to meet again in person. However, we
had questions. Would this convention be as inspiring and energetic as previous
ones? Would we contract COVID? If we did, would we get really sick?</p> <p>Despite
these uncertainties, more than two hundred Marylanders attended our national
convention in New Orleans from July 4 to 11. There were more than forty first-timers,
which is really pretty amazing and exciting.</p> <p>All first-timers have worthwhile
stories to tell. This article features three first-timers who come from varied
and diverse backgrounds. Each had different expectations and reasons for attending
the convention. All came away with the realization that they are not alone, whether
they are pursuing career options or living in a new place independently, they
realize they are all capable of helping others experiencing vision loss.</p> <h3
id="i-can-run-a-business">I Can Run a Business?</h3> <p>Christina Campbell has
been legally blind all her life. She attended the Maryland School for the Blind,
but because she had some vision, she didn't think she needed to learn to read and
write Braille. In 2020 she lost a significant amount of vision and regretted not
taking advantage of learning some more intensive blindness skills while attending
school.</p> <p>Christina has always enjoyed sports and recreation—especially
martial arts and self-defense. After graduating from school, she took courses and
became a certified martial arts instructor. She founded her own school and ran a
successful business for several years. She is now embarking on marketing herself
as a self-defense instructor and is willing to travel to different parts of the
country to teach this essential skill, especially to people who have visual
impairments.</p> <p>Christina heard about the NFB in school but didn't make any
effort to join the organization. She joined a Facebook group called Clubhouse,
where she helps plan events focusing on sports. She met some people in this group
who were Federation members, and they convinced her it was a good idea to join.
She joined the Greater Baltimore Chapter recently and is looking forward to getting
to know more people.</p> <p>One of her first Federation activities was talking to
some parent groups regarding the importance of encouraging their blind children
to participate in sports activities.</p> <p>What did Christina learn from the
convention? She learned that passing resolutions gives us power and influence on
many issues that affect how we work, play, and go to school. She learned blind
people can work in a huge exhibit hall and help sell items like talking clocks,
Braille card games, etc. She learned the importance of having a mentor, as well
as serving as one. She appreciated Ellen Ringlein's help in getting her acclimated
to what was happening and introducing her to people from many states. She especially
enjoyed the opening ceremonies because the energy was so high, and she heard
delegates from each state give brief highlights of what had happened in their
affiliates during the past year. She is looking forward to staying involved in
Federation activities and assuming some leadership roles.</p> <h3 id="can-i-do-it">Can
I Do It? </h3> <p>Pat Peters recently moved to Maryland from Chicago to be near
her children and grandchildren. It was a big adjustment. She had been gradually
losing her vision due to retinitis pigmentosa, a progressive eye disease. She was
apprehensive about the move because she knew where things were in her neighborhood,
she had friends, and she felt comfortable. She was no stranger to experiencing
new things. Throughout her career she had helped people who had been sexually
abused, ran a construction company, and opened a coffee shop. When the opportunity
came to get an apartment near her family, she packed up and moved, not quite
knowing what she would find or if she would like it here.</p> <p>Pat heard about
the Federation and the national convention from one of our newer members, Judy
Nelson. When Pat heard about all the events that happened at convention, she
decided to go, figuring she would meet new people and learn more about adjustment
to vision loss.</p> <p>The Ambassadors Committee is an important part of the work
we do, especially at national and state conventions. When Pat learned that a blind
person would be her mentor, she was amazed and a little apprehensive. "How could
a blind person help me when she wouldn't know where to go herself?" After losing
her mentor in the airport, (they found each other) she decided this was going to
be a real adventure.</p> <p>When she got to the hotel and heard hundreds of canes
tapping, she felt excited and nervous. Pat's first day was exhausting. After
standing in line for two hours to show her COVID test, picking up her registration
packet, and trying to figure out what to do next, she told her mentor she was
ready to go to her room to make some coffee. Making coffee is no big deal, right?
Well, after she got everything ready, she pushed the only button she could find
on the pot, and nothing happened. Not to be deterred, her mentor called Be My Eyes
to see if they could figure out why the pot was not running. After more exploration
and much laughter, they discovered that the pot was not plugged in. Hearing that
coffee gurgle in the pot made Pat realize that blind people could solve problems
and that she had a group of friends in the NFB who would stand beside her as she
adjusted to life here in Maryland. Maybe she could leave her room by herself and
go to meetings like everyone else was.</p> <p>On the second day, Pat was leaving
her room on her own, attending seminars, finding food, and doing what she wanted
to do. She realized people were helping each other find their way, and she continued
to gain confidence in her new-found freedom as the week wore on. She met Federationists
who lived near her in Prince George's County, and since the convention she has
participated in many activities with them. Pat has already registered for the
state convention.</p> <p>What would Pat's advice be to newly blind people and to
those considering attending a convention for the first time? "There are no
limits."</p> <h3 id="my-life-has-come-full-circle">My Life Has Come Full Circle</h3>
<p>Guy Kelly, a veteran, federal contractor for the government, hardware designer,
and an entrepreneur has led a full life. In 2018 he was hit in the eye with a
basketball. His vision was affected somewhat, but he continued to function
normally.</p> <p>In 2020 he lost a significant amount of vision, which was very
devastating. He retired from Verizon after thirty years of installing cable networks
for telephone systems. He is currently still working on some contracts designing
telephone system hardware. His future goal is to be approved as a minority business
owner and be awarded contracts from the government to continue installation and
other types of work.</p> <p>Guy did not want the fact that he was nearly blind to
run his life. He began doing some research and decided he needed some independent
living skills training. He is currently enrolled in the core program at Blind
Industries and Services of Maryland (BISM).</p> <p>Guy heard about the convention
from BISM and decided to go. He had joined the Central Maryland Chapter and already
knew a few people.</p> <p>One of the first things that amazed him was that, while
waiting to check into the hotel, he saw a blind person on a hover board. He said
he was privileged to have Sharon Maneki as his mentor and couldn't believe how
many people she introduced him to on his first day.</p> <p>Guy said he enjoyed
learning about all the civil rights issues in which the Federation is involved.
This was very personal to him since the Federation had just gone to court with
him to help secure visitation rights to see his six-year-old daughter. He had been
denied visitation rights on the basis of his blindness. He is happy he now has
visitation rights and he credits the Federation totally for making that happen.</p>
<p>Guy relayed that the highlight of the convention for him was the opening day
ceremonies. Thirty years ago, while in the army, he carried the Missouri state
flag at the Super Bowl in New Orleans. At the 2022 convention, he was able to be
part of the color guard and carry the Federation flag. He is proud to have served
his country and proud to be a Federationist.</p> <p>----------</p> <p>[PHOTO
CAPTION: Jenivieve White]</p> <h2 id="nielsen-gives-the-federation-more-than-ratings">Nielsen
Gives the Federation More than Ratings</h2> <p><strong>by Jenivieve White</strong></p>
<p><strong>From the Editor: Jen is one of the most enthusiastic people I know on
our national staff. She is always helpful and friendly, and she knows how to
appreciate the work of others and acknowledge them. Here is her contribution:</strong></p>
<p>Community involvement: what does that really mean, and who are the folks that
are truly involved in their communities? It means helping your community become
better one action at a time. It means showing up when help is needed, and it means
you are really concerned that those you are helping are moving toward the goals
they want to achieve.</p> <p>The National Federation of the Blind is a volunteer-run
organization by blind and sighted folks all over the United States and Puerto
Rico. We run the programs of the Federation, but we also have partnerships with
companies who volunteer their time and expertise to our programs, conventions,
and fundraising.</p> <p>For the past seven years, we have been lucky enough to
have a team of volunteers from Nielsen Media Research Incorporated, located in
Columbia, Maryland, who really do believe in their community, who are concerned
that we are achieving our goals as an organization, and who are always willing to
help when we ask.</p> <p>Every quarter a team of volunteers from Nielsen helps
with our Early Childhood Initiatives Program which is geared toward children aged
birth to eight years. This program has close to six hundred participants, and each
quarter these children are sent a packet of materials with activities to help them
with their Braille and travel skills. Our Nielsen volunteer team picks up the
quarterly mailing materials from NFB headquarters, collates those Braille and
print documents, prints the envelopes, stuffs those envelopes, and mails those
packets for us.</p> <p>This wonderful team of folks has volunteered at our 6 Dot
Dash events, taking on being talking signs, running or walking with blind
participants, and being at the water stations throughout the race. They have helped
us with NFB BELL Academy and NFB EQ programs by cutting, taping, and counting out
origami squares. They have even helped with the collating and binding of our Code
of Conduct documents in Braille for National Convention.</p> <p>Nielsen gives
their employees one day every year where they can volunteer with any organization
they wish, and of course, our wonderful team shows up in full force ready to do
whatever we ask of them.</p> <p>The Nielsen team of volunteers consists of many
folks, but I definitely want to give special thanks to a number of these wonderful
people. Neil Eisenberg, Vice President of Finance, was one of the first persons
we met at Nielsen when our partnership began, and he has been our staunch supporter
ever since. He is always one of the first to volunteer, and he also allows other
employees to take time away from their duties to help us each quarter.</p> <p>Sue
Thomas is a project manager at Nielsen, and she has volunteered in every way we
have asked, including at the 6 Dot Dash, and she is my main contact each quarter
when she comes to pick up the materials for the mailing. Rowena Flores, Crystal
Gore-Fisher, and Bhavini Thacker are all on the core team of volunteers as well.
There have been so many other volunteers from Nielsen that I cannot name them all,
but I want everyone to know that this team helps keep our programs running, saves
us countless hours of time, and reaches out to let us know they are here for us
whenever we need them.</p> <p>Our partnership with Nielsen Media Research Incorporated
shows how impactful partnering is to our mission, programs, and our blind members.
We will continue to hold this relationship in the highest regard as we thank all
of the volunteers who help keep this organization moving forward.</p> <p>----------</p>
<p>[PHOTO CAPTION: Paul Gabias with his guide dog Kenko]</p> <h2
id="kenko-and-the-christmas-wreaths">Kenko and The Christmas Wreaths</h2>
<p><strong>by Paul Gabias</strong></p> <p><strong>From the Editor: Dr. Paul Gabias
is an Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of British Columbia
(UBC). His areas of specialization at the University are vision and touch,
particularly picture perception. Paul considers his blindness from birth as a
minor characteristic. It’s all a matter of perspective, he says. He is
thrilled to work with kindred spirits in the National Federation of the
Blind.</strong></p> <p><strong>Kenko is the seventh guide dog that Paul has trained
himself. She is a golden retriever. He has trained three guide dogs for other
people. Two of them had never traveled with guide dogs before. He learned to train
guide dogs from his blind professor of psychology, Dr. Robert Lambert. Bob learned
from his English friend Bill, who was also blind.</strong></p> <p><strong>For many
years in the 1990s, Paul was the president of the National Association of Guide
Dog Users and the editor of <em>Harness Up</em>. In addition to his other work,
Paul is the CEO of his company The Gabias Wellness Network. His business has
reached the level of Platinum Independent Wellness Consultant with the Nikken
Corporation. He finds, trains, and develops people who want to grow businesses
with The Gabias Wellness Network and Nikken. He says that at seventy years old,
he feels better than ever, and I’m delighted he felt energetic enough to
take the trip he describes and then to write us an article with a bit of holiday
spirit:</strong></p> <p>How do blind people get to places they’ve never
been before? The same as sighted people do! We do research as to how to get there.
It’s no more complicated than that! So how does Kenko come into it?
That’s what this story is about.</p> <p>We live in Kelowna, British Columbia,
Canada. My wife Mary Ellen is also blind. We have raised four sighted children
who are now adults, and our daughter Joanne has made several important contributions
that have found their way into this magazine.</p> <p>Our Costco moved about six
months ago. We used to go to Costco all the time, but since the beginning of 2020,
we discovered Instacart through our daughter. Now, when we order from Costco using
our cell phone, Instacart does the shopping for us and delivers the order to our
door. This is so convenient! There is no needing help in the store any more and
no need to call and wait for a taxi to get us home. Everything is done for us,
provided that we can make the programming on the cell phone work. We can also look
around through the aisles of the store to see what’s new. The phone robot
never gets tired of listing the merchandise in each aisle. For a blind person,
it’s a great way to shop, and sighted people like it too, otherwise the
service wouldn’t exist. We use Apple phones and they speak to us, through
something they call Voice Over. If you know how to use the speech aspects of the
Apple cell phones, they will usually tell you what is on the screen, and you can
interact with it.</p> <p>Christmas wreaths didn’t seem to be on the Instacart
menu. When we called Costco, they said that they had 157 wreaths in stock. Knowing
Costco, that meant that I had to get there relatively quickly, even though we were
still in early November. At Costco, items move fast, and you can never be sure if
they’ll have more in stock. So I decided to go to the new Costco myself.
On our home, we have double front doors adjacent to each other, so I wanted two
wreaths, one on each door.</p> <p>The official address for the new Costco is: 2125
Baron Road. I must have been there once before, because when I checked the address
on my Blind Square App, it said that Costco is at 1830 Leckie Road. I must have
entered that address in the App when I was at the front door. I must have taken
a taxi there. I decided that I would trust the Blind Square address and not the
Costco official address.</p> <p>Blind Square is a wonderful App. There are others,
but I use this one. The App can literally tell you what’s around you like
street intersections and addresses and stores and restaurants around a location.
In fact, you don’t even have to be at that location to get information
about it. Blind Square can go there virtually if you want it to. You can literally
look around different places, right from the comfort of your own home. I find it
great for planning trips abroad. It’s like travelling from your armchair!</p>
<p>To find out how to get to where you want to go by bus, subway, or train, you
can use Move It! It’s a public transportation App that works all around
the world. It, too, can be set to operate virtually anywhere in the world. So
again, you can explore public transportation from the comfort of your own home,
right from your armchair.</p> <p>When I entered 1830 Leckie Road in Move It, it
said that the number eleven bus went to Springfield and Leckie. That’s
convenient, because the number eleven bus stop is right in front of our house.
Springfield is an East-West Street. Leckie is a North-South Street. I knew that
the bus would be travelling west on Springfield. Because of the even numbered
address of Costco, I also knew that Costco would be on the west side of Leckie.
The trick is to know on which side of Springfield Costco would be. I can look at
Google map driving or walking directions, and as we are travelling west on
Springfield, if they say to turn right on Leckie, then the store is on the north
side of Springfield. It turns out that that is exactly what the directions said.</p>
<p>The only question then was on what side of Leckie is the bus stop, the east
side or the west side? Bus drivers typically don’t know how to answer that
question. So you have to frame it in a way that they will hopefully understand.
“Driver, when I get off the bus, is Leckie in front of the bus or behind
the bus?”</p> <p>“Get off at the front of the bus please,”
the driver says. “It’s safer that way”, he says. He didn’t
answer my question at all.</p> <p>I try another way. “To get to Costco, do
I have to cross Leckie or not?”</p> <p>“No, Costco is right in front
of you when you get off the bus.”</p> <p>People can be so sloppy with
directions. I remember my father asking for directions when driving somewhere
unfamiliar, and no two people gave the same directions. No wonder men don’t
like asking for directions! The driver kind of answered my question, but not
really. And also, right in front of me when I get off the bus is Springfield, not
Leckie, since the bus is travelling along Springfield. The Costco address is on
Leckie.</p> <p>To solve this problem I used another form of technology with my
cell phone. There is a service for blind people called Aira. I open the App and
get somebody on the phone. Through the phone camera, the Aira agent can see our
surroundings and go on Google Earth to also see where we are. When I call with my
phone, the agent can tell where I am in my city. This is a service that blind
people can pay for every month.</p> <p>Because this is a new Costco, it doesn’t
show up on Google Earth. Scanning with my phone, I show him the parking lot in
front of me to see if there is some kind of pathway that I can expect Kenko to
follow to get inside the store. He doesn’t see one, just lots of snow. He
says that he can see a little path that people might have created, but he’s
not sure.</p> <p>I’m going to assume that the entrance to the parking lot
is on Leckie, not Springfield. The Costco might be in front of me, but the path
to get there may not be. I tell the agent that Kenko is pretty good at figuring
out navigable paths, so let’s see what she does if I give her the
“inside” command. She turns to the right, and starts to walk east
on Springfield, not wanting to traverse the snow bank which is sure to be there.
I don’t know exactly how far we are from Leckie, so I keep asking her to
turn left when she can. She ignores all of the left turns that I give her, which
tells me that she believes that there is no path into the parking lot on the left.
In fact, she does not cut the corner turning left. She goes straight to the
intersection, as I have taught her to do.</p> <p>At the intersection I ask her to
turn left, which she does. I continue my requests to turn left, and she ignores
them all. We are now walking north on the west side of Leckie, and I don’t
know how far the entrance to the parking lot is. I hear cars moving on my left
side, which indicates that they are moving in the parking lot, but still Kenko
does not turn in, which means that there is no path to do so. Just to be sure, I
ask the Aira agent if she’s passed it, and he says no. Finally, about a
thousand feet farther, she does turn in. “Good Girl!” I say.</p>
<p>She tries to walk west along the south bank of the parking lot, which is on
our left. She wants to stay out of the middle of the parking lot if she can. After
a while, maybe one hundred feet, there’s a car in the way, and the agent
says that there’s a shopping cart in the way too. Sometimes these parking
lot banks run out of sidewalk, and we are forced to walk in the parking lot. I
feel that this is what Kenko wants to do, and I give her the “forward”
command to step off the curb. She wouldn’t step off the curb without stopping
before and waiting for the “forward” command. That’s to tell
me that there is a curb there. She is also alert to whether I have checked the
location of the curb with my left foot. If she feels that I haven’t checked,
she will not obey the “forward” command. She is ever-conscious of
what she thinks that I know and don’t know.</p> <p>Now, it’s a huge
parking lot, with moving and parked cars. I know that Kenko can handle this. We
come up to a silent parked car, which I can sense with my ears, but we don’t
make contact with it. Kenko stops and thinks. I’m telling her
“inside.” She moves to the left and heads purposefully across the
parking lot. I can tell that she knows what she’s doing, and I just go with
her. A few minutes later, I hear and smell and feel the heat of the Costco entrance.
We are there, with relative ease. I thank the Aira agent for being there. I tell
him that he was there as a backup. He saw through the camera what Kenko was doing.
So I said: “Wasn’t she a good girl?” He said that indeed she
was. He didn’t say more! I got the impression that he might have been all
choaked up. After all, how often do people get to see guide dogs perform like
this? It’s one of the perks of his job. But I get to experience it every
day! Lucky me!</p> <p>An employee at Costco helped me find two beautiful wreaths.
They’re about 2.5 feet in diameter, with lots of greenery and pine cones.
We pushed the shopping cart through the store (they call them buggies here), and
Kenko heeled on my left side. Leave it to Costco; they are double buggies, with
room for two babies side by side, but only one side had a seat belt.</p> <p>We
took a taxi home, and I hung up the wreaths on the front doors as soon as I got
home. There’s a kind of hook on each door that I use every year. The doors
are made up of an oval frame filled in with glass. This way, people can see the
wreaths from both the outside and the inside of the house. I can touch them each
time I leave the house, if I want. I just like knowing they are there. They serve
as a pleasant Christmas greeting for those who view the front of our home or enter
into it. My father installed the Christmas wreath on our front door when I was
growing up. The wreaths remind me of him too.</p> <p>[Paul can be reached at: <a
href="http://paulgabias.mynikken.com">paulgabias.mynikken.com</a>]</p> <p>----------</p>
<h2 id="you-can-make-a-difference">You Can Make a Difference </h2> <p>Blind
children, students, and adults are making powerful strides in education and
leadership every day across the United States. For more than eighty years, the
National Federation of the Blind has worked to transform the dreams of hundreds
of thousands of blind people into reality. With support from individuals like you,
we can continue to provide powerful programs and critical resources for decades
to come. We sincerely hope you will plan to be a part of our enduring movement by
including the National Federation of the Blind in your charitable giving and in
your estate planning. It is easier than you think.</p> <p> </p> <p>With your
help, the NFB will continue to:</p> <ul> <li><p>Give blind children the gift of
literacy through Braille.</p></li> <li><p>Promote independent travel by
providing free, long white canes to blind people in need.</p></li> <li><p>Develop
dynamic educational projects and programs to show blind youth that science and
math careers are within their reach.</p></li> <li><p>Deliver hundreds of accessible
newspapers and magazines to provide blind people the essential information necessary
to be actively involved in their communities.</p></li> <li><p>Offer aids and
appliances that help seniors losing vision maintain their independence.</p></li>
</ul> <h3 id="plan-to-leave-a-legacy">Plan to Leave a Legacy</h3> <p>The National
Federation of the Blind Legacy Society, our Dream Makers Circle, honors and
recognizes the generosity and vision of members and special friends of the National
Federation of the Blind who have chosen to leave a legacy through a will or other
planned giving option. You can join the Dream Makers Circle in a myriad of ways.</p>
<h3 id="fixed-sum-of-assets">Fixed Sum of Assets</h3> <p>You can specify that a
fixed sum of your assets or property goes to the National Federation of the Blind
in your will, trust, pension, IRA, life insurance policy, brokerage account, or
other accounts.</p> <h3 id="percentage-of-assets">Percentage of Assets</h3> <p>You
can specify that a percentage of your assets or property goes to the National
Federation of the Blind in your will, trust, pension, IRA, life insurance policy,
brokerage account, or other accounts.</p> <h3 id="payable-on-death-pod-account">Payable
on Death (POD) Account</h3> <p>You can name the National Federation of the Blind
as the beneficiary on a Payable on Death (POD) account through your bank. You can
turn any checking or savings account into a POD account. This is one of the simplest
ways to leave a legacy. The account is totally in your control during your lifetime
and you can change the beneficiary or percentage at any time with ease.</p> <h3
id="will-or-trust">Will or Trust</h3> <p>If you do decide to create or revise your
will, consider the National Federation of the Blind as a partial beneficiary.</p>
<p>Visit our Planned Giving webpage (<a
href="https://www.nfb.org/get-involved/ways-give/planned-giving"><u>https://www.nfb.org/get-involved/ways-give/planned-giving</u></a>)
or call 410-659-9314, extension 2422, for more information.</p> <p>Together with
love, hope, determination, and your support, we will continue to transform dreams
into reality.</p> <h3 id="ways-to-contribute-now">Ways to Contribute Now </h3>
<p>Throughout 2021, the NFB:</p> <ul> <li><p>Sent nearly one thousand Braille
Santa and Winter Celebration letters to blind children, encouraging excitement
for Braille literacy.</p></li> <li><p>Distributed over five thousand canes to
blind people across the United States, empowering them to travel safely and
independently throughout their communities.</p></li> <li><p>Delivered audio
newspaper and magazine services to 126,823 subscribers, providing free access to
over five hundred local, national, and international publications.</p></li>
<li><p>Gave over six hundred Braille-writing slates and styluses free of charge
to blind users.</p></li> <li><p>Mentored 232 blind youth during our Braille
Enrichment for Literacy and Learning® Academy in-home editions.</p></li>
</ul> <p>Just imagine what we’ll do next year and, with your help, what
can be accomplished for years to come. Below are just a few of the many diverse,
tax-deductible ways you can lend your support to the National Federation of the
Blind.</p> <h3 id="vehicle-donation-program">Vehicle Donation Program</h3> <p>The
NFB accepts donated vehicles, including cars, trucks, boats, motorcycles, or
recreational vehicles. Just call 855-659-9314 toll-free, and a representative can
make arrangements to pick up your donation. We can also answer any questions you
have.</p> <h3 id="general-donation">General Donation</h3> <p>General donations
help support the ongoing programs of the NFB and the work to help blind people
live the lives they want. You can call 410-659-9314 and elect option 4 to donate
by phone. Donate online with a credit card or through the mail with check or money
order. Visit our Ways to Give webpage (<a
href="https://www.nfb.org/get-involved/ways-give"><u>https://www.nfb.org/get-involved/ways-give</u></a>)
for more information. </p> <h3 id="pre-authorized-contribution">Pre-Authorized
Contribution</h3> <p>Through the Pre-Authorized Contribution (PAC) program,
supporters sustain the efforts of the National Federation of the Blind by making
recurring monthly donations by direct withdrawal of funds from a checking account
or a charge to a credit card. To enroll, call 410-659-9314, extension 2213, or
fill out our PAC Donation Form (<a
href="https://www.nfb.org/pac"><u>https://www.nfb.org/pac</u></a>) online.</p>
<p>If you have questions about giving, please send an email to <a
href="mailto:outreach@nfb.org"><u>outreach@nfb.org</u></a> or call 410-659-9314,
extension 2422.</p> <p>----------</p> <h2
id="social-security-announces-8.7-percent-cost-of-living-adjustment-for-2023">Social
Security Announces 8.7 Percent Cost-of-Living Adjustment for 2023</h2> <p><strong>by
NFB Advocacy and Policy Department</strong></p> <p>It’s that time of year
again when we provide you with information regarding annual adjustments to the
Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
programs. In 2023, approximately seventy million Americans will see an 8.7 percent
cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) increase in their benefit amounts. Thus, come
January, monthly checks will be higher.</p> <p>The 2023 amounts are below, along
with some general concepts pertaining to the Social Security and Medicare programs,
in case you want to better understand or refresh yourself about your rights. The
COLA (if any) is based on the consumer price index (CPI-W), which measures the
rate of inflation against the wages earned by the approximately 173 million workers
across the nation over the previous four quarters starting with the third quarter
of the previous year.</p> <h3 id="tax-rates">Tax Rates</h3> <p>FICA and Self-Employment
Tax Rates: If you are employed, you know that you do not bring home everything
you earn. For example, 7.65 percent of your pay is deducted to cover your contribution
to the Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI) Trust Funds and the
Medicare Hospital Insurance (HI) Trust Funds, 6.20 percent covers OASDI, and 1.45
percent is contributed to the HI Trust Funds. Additionally, your employer is
required to match this 7.65 percent for a total of 15.30 percent. </p> <p>For
those who are self-employed, there is no “employer” to match the
7.65 percent, which means a self-employed individual pays the entire 15.30 percent
of their income. These numbers will not change in 2023 regardless of whether an
individual is employed or self-employed. As of January 2023, individuals with
earned income of more than $200,000 ($250,000 for married couples filing jointly)
pay an additional 0.9 percent in Medicare taxes; this does not include the above
amounts.</p> <h3 id="maximum-taxable-earnings">Maximum Taxable Earnings</h3>
<p>There is a ceiling on taxable earnings for the OASDI Trust Fund, which was
$147,000 in 2022 and will increase to $160,200 in 2023. Thus, for earnings above
$160,200, there is no 6.20 percent deducted for OASDI. As for Medicare, there is
no limit on taxable earnings for the HI Trust Fund.</p> <h3
id="social-security-disability-insurance-ssdi-quarters-of-coverage">Social Security
Disability Insurance (SSDI) Quarters of Coverage</h3> <p>The OASDI Trust Fund is
kind of like an insurance policy. You have to pay a premium to participate.
Therefore, to qualify for Retirement, Survivors, or Disability Insurance benefits,
an individual must pay a minimum amount of FICA taxes into the OASDI Trust Fund
by earning a sufficient number of calendar quarters to become fully insured for
Social Security benefits.<br /> <br /> In 2022, credit for one quarter of coverage
was awarded for any individual who earned at least $1,510 during the year, which
means that an individual would need to earn at least $6,040 to be credited with
four quarters of coverage. In 2023, the amount increases to $1,640 for one calendar
quarter or $6,560 to earn four quarters of coverage for the year.</p> <p>A maximum
of four quarters can be awarded for any calendar year, and it makes no difference
when the income is earned during that year. Basically, the taxes you pay into the
OASDI and HI Trust Funds are your premiums to take part in the Social Security
and Medicare programs. The total number of quarters required to be eligible for
benefits depends on the individual’s age. The older the individual, the
more quarters are required. Furthermore, a higher average income during an
individual’s lifetime means a higher Social Security or SSDI check when
benefits start. Remember the above quoted numbers for quarters of coverage to
become fully insured are only minimum amounts. </p> <h3 id="trial-work-period-twp">Trial
Work Period (TWP)</h3> <p>This concept is often misunderstood. The amount of
earnings required to use a trial work month is not based on the earnings limit
for blind beneficiaries but instead on the national average wage index. In 2022,
the amount required to use a TWP month was only $970, and this amount will increase
to $1,050 in 2023. </p> <p>If you are self-employed, you can also use a trial
work month if you work more than eighty hours in your business, and this limitation
will not change unless expressly adjusted.</p> <h3 id="substantial-gainful-activity-sga">Substantial
Gainful Activity (SGA)</h3> <p>The earnings limit for a blind beneficiary in 2022
was $2,260 per month and will increase to $2,460 in 2023. Again, it’s
important to remember this is not the amount of money an individual makes to use
a trial month. This is to say that the TWP can be exhausted even if your income
is well below $2,460 per month. See the above information about the TWP.</p> <p>In
2023 a blind SSDI beneficiary who earns $2,460 or more in a month (before taxes
but after subtracting un-incurred business expenses for the self-employed, subsidized
income for the employed, and impairment-related work expenses) will be deemed to
have exceeded SGA and will likely no longer be eligible for SSDI benefits.</p>
<h3 id="supplemental-security-income-ssi">Supplemental Security Income (SSI)</h3>
<p>The federal payment amount for individuals receiving SSI was $841 in 2022 and
will increase to $914 in 2023. For married couples, the federal monthly payment
amount of SSI will increase from $1,261 to $1,371.</p> <h3
id="student-earned-income-exclusion">Student Earned Income Exclusion</h3> <p>In
2022, the monthly amount was $2,041 and will increase to $2,220 in 2023. The annual
amount was $8,231 in 2022 and will be $8,950 in 2023. The asset limits under the
SSI program will remain unchanged at $2,000 per individual and $3,000 per married
couple.</p> <h3 id="able-act">ABLE Act</h3> <p>Signed on December 19, 2014, the
ABLE Act has a significant impact on resource limits associated with the SSI and
Medicaid programs for those who were blind or disabled by the age of twenty-six.
Traditionally, SSI beneficiaries have been required to adhere to strict resource
limits: such as a maximum of $2,000 in the bank for an individual receiving SSI
benefits. Under the ABLE Act, however, the amount deposited in an ABLE Account
can be much higher. ABLE Account contributions must be designated specifically
for purposes such as education, housing (with a cautionary warning to follow),
employment training and support, assistive technology, health, prevention and
wellness, financial management, legal fees, and funeral and burial expenses. The
required implementing regulations are being enacted in most states. Check with
your financial institution of choice for a status of ABLE Act regulations in a
specific state and to see if an ABLE account is right for you.</p> <p>As to the
warning about ABLE Account contributions for housing, it is important to note that
SSI beneficiaries may still face the traditional $2,000 resource limit for ABLE
Account funds designated for housing. Thus, SSI beneficiaries should consider the
many other purposes not subject to the traditional resource limits when making
ABLE Account contributions, since there are also tax advantages associated with
ABLE accounts.</p> <p>----------</p> <p>[PHOTO CAPTION: Eric Ochmanek]</p> <h2
id="a-way-to-save-when-receiving-public-assistance">A Way to Save when Receiving
Public Assistance</h2> <p><strong>by Eric Ochmanek</strong></p> <p><strong>From
the Editor: Eric is involved in the ABLE program as a part of his duties with the
National Association of State Treasurers. This program is a way for people who
normally function under very restrictive savings limits to use an account for
purposes that will enhance their lives. Eric has been to our national convention
before and looks forward to being with us in Houston in 2023. Here is what he has
to say:</strong></p> <p>Carol Akers thought it was too good to be true. She had
listened to five presentations about ABLE accounts before she finally approached
me. For many years, she thought her son Dusty, who is blind and has other disabilities
that require support services, couldn’t save money beyond Medicaid’s
$2,000 annual asset limit, preventing her from planning for Dusty’s financial
future.</p> <p>“I’ve been to five presentations about this, and I
wanted to confirm each ABLE presenter said the same thing and answered my questions
the same way,” Akers told me.</p> <p>Carol’s concerns were very
real. She didn’t want anything to cause problems for Dusty’s disability
benefits. Fortunately, ABLE (Achieving a Better Life Experience) accounts can help
relieve concerns about the future, not increase them.</p> <p>Earlier this year,
the National Association of State Treasurers (<a href="http://www.nast.org">www.nast.org</a>)
(NAST) launched ABLE Today, a national initiative focused on increasing the
awareness of ABLE accounts. Our mission is to ensure more and more people with
disabilities (and their family and caregivers like Carol) know about ABLE and the
life-changing effects it can have for their financial futures.</p> <p>ABLE Today
is focused on assisting people with disabilities by promoting ABLE and providing
information on these accounts. I assured Carol that these accounts not only existed,
but that they had been available since 2016. These are savings and investment
tools, built specifically for people with disabilities, allowing them to save
money without affecting public benefits eligibility. At ABLE Today, we are available
to present and answer questions about ABLE to your local community or chapter.
ABLE empowers account holders to invest in their long-term financial security,
creating opportunities for greater empowerment and inclusion for them in their
communities.</p> <p>Through an ABLE account, enrollees can change the way they
save, invest, and plan for their future by having the options to:</p> <ul>
<li><p>Save money in their own name, or add on a support person to help manage
the account</p></li> <li><p>Accumulate wealth without losing benefits like Medicaid,
SSI, HUD, SNAP, or other public programs they rely on</p></li> <li><p>Work without
having to “spend down” their current or future income</p></li>
<li><p>Make choices about where to put their money through a combination of
checking, savings, and investment account options</p></li> </ul> <p>Carol set up
an ABLE account for Dusty, and the money they’ve put into it can be used
for anything that relates to his disability and helps maintain or improve his
health, independence, and quality of life. This can include housing and rent,
basic living expenses like groceries and utilities, transportation, education
tuition, legal or financial management fees, and costs towards Dusty’s
supportive assistive technologies and medical care. Through an ABLE account, Carol
and Dusty can plan and save for all of this without sacrificing his federal
benefits.</p> <h3 id="setting-up-an-account">Setting up An Account</h3> <p>Setting
up an account is simple and straightforward. Forty-six states plus the District
of Columbia have ABLE programs in place, and many of these states allow for those
outside of the state to enroll if your state isn’t one of those forty-six.
You can open an account in person, online, through a paper application, and for
one state you can enroll at a bank branch. Once your account is set up, you can
access your ABLE account funds through debit cards, checkbooks, third party checks,
or bank transfers.</p> <p>Every person with a disability deserves to know about
ABLE. We work with organizations like the National Federation of the Blind (NFB)
to educate their members about the transformative power of ABLE accounts, and
connect them to this impactful resource. The biggest challenge is making people
aware of this opportunity.</p> <p>Carol Akers is an incredible caregiver for her
son. She wasn’t alone when it came to being unaware of ABLE and what it
could do for her son’s future. As of mid-2022, only 126,000 people with
disabilities are ABLE account holders. It’s a drop in the bucket compared
to the approximately eight million Americans who qualify and are missing out on
this transformative resource and financial planning tool designed specifically
for them.</p> <p>The message is simple—you can work, save, live, and plan
for your financial future with ABLE—so please visit <a
href="https://www.abletoday.org/">https://www.abletoday.org/</a>, and learn how
to accelerate your financial future. And make sure to share it with your friends
and family.</p> <p>----------</p> <p>[PHOTO CAPTION: Robin House]</p> <h2
id="the-2023-blind-educator-of-the-year-award">The 2023 Blind Educator of the Year
Award</h2> <p><strong>by Robin House</strong></p> <p><strong>From the Editor:
Robin House is an experienced educator in her own right, with many titles to her
name: MEd, LPC, RPT. She was named Blind Educator of the Year in 2018. She chairs
the 2023 Blind Educator of the Year Award Selection Committee, and she holds a
master of education degree, is a Licensed Professional Counselor, and is a Registered
Play Therapist. What is harder to convey is that, given the tremendous admiration
we have for her accomplishments, the thing that makes us blessed is that Robin is
Robin and that she chooses to be an active part of us. This is what she
says:</strong></p> <p>A number of years ago the Blind Educator of the Year Award
was established by the National Organization of Blind Educators (the educators
division of the National Federation of the Blind) to pay tribute to a blind teacher
whose exceptional classroom performance, notable community service, and uncommon
commitment to the NFB merit national recognition. Beginning with the 1991
presentation, this award became an honor bestowed by our entire movement. This
change reflects our recognition of the importance of good teaching and the affect
an outstanding blind teacher has on students, faculty, community, and all blind
Americans.</p> <p>This award is presented in the spirit of the outstanding educators
who founded and have continued to nurture the National Federation of the Blind
and who, by example, have imparted knowledge of our strengths to us and raised
our expectations. We have learned from Dr. Jacobus tenBroek, Dr. Kenneth Jernigan,
Dr. Marc Maurer, and our current President Mark Riccobono that a teacher not only
provides a student with information but also provides guidance, advocacy, and
love. The recipient of the Blind Educator of the Year Award must exhibit all these
traits and must advance the cause of blind people in the spirit and philosophy of
the National Federation of the Blind.</p> <p>The Blind Educator of the Year Award
is presented at the annual convention of the National Federation of the Blind.
Honorees must be present to receive an appropriately inscribed plaque and a check
for $1,000.</p> <p>Nominations should be sent to Ms. Robin House by email to <a
href="mailto:robin@mindsrealm.net">robin@mindsrealm.net</a> or by mail to Stix
ECC, 647 Tower Grove Ave., St. Louis, MO 63110. Letters of nomination must be
accompanied by a copy of the nominee’s current résumé and supporting
documentation of community and Federation activity. All nomination materials must
be in the hands of the committee chairperson by May 1, 2023, to be considered for
this year’s award. For further information contact Robin House at 314-265-6852,
or <a href="mailto:robin@mindsrealm.net">robin@mindsrealm.net</a>.</p> <p>----------</p>
<p>[PHOTO CAPTION: Ruth Reader]</p> <h2
id="congress-ordered-agencies-to-use-tech-that-works-for-people-with-disabilities-twenty-four-years-agomany-still-havent">Congress
Ordered Agencies to Use Tech that Works for People with Disabilities Twenty-four
Years Ago—Many Still Haven't</h2> <p><strong>by Ruth Reader</strong></p>
<p><strong>Published by <em>POLITICO</em> on August 21, 2022</strong></p>
<p><strong>From the Editor: This article is taken from the <em>Braille Spectator</em>,
the official publication of the National Federation of the Blind of Maryland.
Following is the way it was introduced:</strong></p> <p><strong>[Editor's Note:
Federal workers make up the largest segment of Maryland's workforce. We in the
NFBMD also have a significant portion of our membership who work for the federal
government. What’s more, a substantial portion of our members access federal
websites and systems such as Social Security benefits, education services,
discrimination complaint systems, and many others. Below is an article detailing
the frustrations of members with inaccessible federal technology and how the NFB
is advocating to Congress for improvements.]</strong></p> <p>Ronza Othman, a lawyer
with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in Baltimore, hasn't been able
to order a sandwich without help in her office cafeteria for a decade.</p> <p>Before
the deli replaced workers with a touch screen in 2012, she would walk up to the
counter and ask for a roast beef and cheddar sandwich with cucumbers, not pickles.
But Ronza, who is blind, can't work the touch screen as it doesn't take voice
commands.</p> <p>"I'm an attorney. I have a master's degree in government and
nonprofit management. I've raised children," she said. "But I can't get a damn
sandwich by myself in my agency."</p> <p>Congress made a portion of the 1973
Rehabilitation Act known as Section 508, which asks federal agencies to make
technology accessible, mandatory in 1998. But nearly a quarter century later, they
are still failing to do so. And it's not just about ordering lunch. Roughly 30
percent of the most popular federal websites don't meet accessibility standards,
according to a 2021 report by the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation.
Enforcement is virtually nonexistent, and agencies are spending little effort or
money to comply.</p> <p>"Clients of my firm right now are dealing with trainings
required by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services that don't work with
blind people's screen readers and with intake kiosks at the Social Security
Administration that are not accessible," said Eve Hill, a lawyer with Brown,
Goldstein & Levy, who testified about the problems before the Senate Aging
Committee last month.</p> <p>Hill, along with Anil Lewis, Executive Director for
Blindness Initiatives at the National Federation of the Blind, and Jule Ann
Lieberman, assistive technology program coordinator at Temple University's Institute
on Disabilities, asked senators to ensure the federal government is complying with
federal disability law.</p> <p>Most frustrating, the advocates said, is that making
technology accessible isn't difficult. It just requires forethought. And it's
important. More than a quarter of Americans have a disability.</p> <p>For the past
ten years, the DOJ hasn't made public any of the biennial reports that Congress
mandated on compliance with Section 508. As of the DOJ's last report in September
2012, less than half of federal agencies had established a compliance plan. Those
that did had an average operating budget of $35,000 a year devoted to the task.</p>
<p>In June, Senate Aging Committee Chair Bob Casey (D-PA) and ranking member Tim
Scott (R-SC), along with other lawmakers, wrote to Veterans Affairs Secretary
Denis McDonough and Attorney General Merrick Garland.</p> <p>They asked McDonough
to provide detailed information about the accessibility of VA websites and plans
to bring them into compliance, noting that only 8 percent of its public sites and
even fewer of its intranet sites complied with the law. "The lack of fully accessible
websites at VA is a potential barrier for the one-quarter of all veterans with a
service-connected disability, and may well be a harbinger of similar shortfalls
at other federal agencies and departments," the senators wrote.</p> <p>In a letter
responding to Casey, McDonough said that the VA's most-used websites have
accessibility ratings of 95 percent or higher. The department is now conducting
daily accessibility scans, he said, to bring other sites into compliance.</p>
<p>In their letter to Garland, the lawmakers asked why the DOJ has not made public
more of its reporting on agency compliance. The department said it is working with
the White House Office of Management and Budget and the General Services Administration
on relaying its data to Congress and the President.</p> <h3 id="widespread-problems">Widespread
Problems</h3> <p>Carlos Montas, a former employee of the Veterans Benefits
Administration in Nashville, Tennessee, who is blind, can relate to Othman's
struggles.</p> <p>When he took a job with the agency in March 2020 that involved
calling veterans to explain their benefits, his manager gave him digital audio
workstation software and a Braille display, which allowed him to read text on the
screen with his fingertips.</p> <p>But neither technology was compatible with much
of the software he needed to do his job. He found performing simple tasks, like
attaching a document to an email, was impossible.</p> <p>He said the VA instituted
performance benchmarks and eventually fired him for not keeping up. He filed a
discrimination complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and won
his job back along with back pay. He quit a few months later for a job at the
EEOC.</p> <p>People who are hard of hearing struggle with federal technology as
well. Early in the Covid-19 pandemic, advocates with the National Association of
the Deaf said that HHS videos did not have proper captioning and were unavailable
in American Sign Language.</p> <p>In their letter to McDonough, Casey and Scott
highlighted the VA's own data showing that hearing loss is "by far the most
prevalent service-connected disability." Hill said people who are deaf or hard of
hearing struggle with training and educational videos that lack captions.</p>
<p>The VA, which serves about nine million veterans a year, is at the center of
the problem, according to Casey and Scott. In March, the senators said the department
had acknowledged "hundreds of thousands of Section 508 compliance issues remain
to be resolved."</p> <p>But problems with accessibility extend across much of the
federal government.</p> <p>The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation,
a Washington, DC, think tank that promotes the use of technology in policy solutions,
audited federal websites in 2021. They found that 30 percent of them, including
popular sites like weather.gov, energystar.gov, and census.gov, did not pass an
automated accessibility test and nearly half had webpages that failed the test.</p>
<p>The report recommended that the General Services Administration, which supports
other federal agencies' logistical needs, create an accessibility testing lab to
ensure sites are compliant and expand its existing Digital Analytics Program to
conduct real-time accessibility testing. It also suggested that Congress require
the DOJ to make its 508 accessibility reports public.</p> <p>Eric Egan, a policy
fellow with the foundation, said he was unaware of any steps the GSA had taken to
implement the reports' recommendations. He said the foundation was encouraged by
the Senate Aging Committee's oversight.</p> <p>A spokesperson for GSA said the
agency is collecting self-reported data from agencies about their compliance with
Section 508, analyzing it, and making recommendations. GSA is also involved with
an interagency effort to update guidance on Section 508 compliance.</p> <h3
id="a-flawed-process">A Flawed Process</h3> <p>Advocates for people with disabilities
say fixing accessibility problems shouldn't be expensive. In his testimony before
the Senate Aging Committee, Lewis attempted to disabuse senators of the idea that
accessible technology costs a lot. "Accessible coding is just good coding," he
said.</p> <p>He offered an example. If the federal government were to create all
its documents on typewriters and then hand them over to a contractor to be digitized,
that would be expensive and inefficient. Instead of layering outdated technology
onto a newer framework, the government should be using technology that designs
around accessibility from the start, he said.</p> <p>Some vendors offer such tools,
said Sommer Panage, who manages a team of engineers focused on accessibility at
Slack, the instant-messaging service. She said Slack has long considered the needs
of people with disabilities in its product design and recently changed its internal
operations to make its software more consistently accessible.</p> <p>Panage manages
a team of engineers focused on accessibility and said her team is now making sure
people with disabilities can use any new feature before release, while also seeking
to ensure it will work with outside accessibility tools.</p> <p>"There's a really
big matrix of the combinations of different operating systems, different screen
readers, different screen readers within each operating system, and then Slack
itself," she told POLITICO. "What we've been really working on now is thinking
about that matrix holistically."</p> <p>But advocates for people with disabilities
say the federal government is behind the curve. Agencies don't often test technology
for accessibility before implementation, and consequences are rare when government
contractors don't ensure that people with disabilities can use their products,
said Doug George Towne, chair and CEO of Access Ready, a disability rights advocacy
organization. "It's a flawed process," he said.</p> <p>Othman said that a culture
of penny-pinching makes life worse for people with disabilities in her workplace.
For example, when her office updated the photocopiers, the agency was given an
option to pay a small additional fee for a speech package, which would have made
the machines accessible to employees who are vision-impaired. A lever attachment
to help employees in wheelchairs raise the copier's lid was also available. But
the agency opted for neither.</p> <p>After employees, including Othman, complained,
she said the office bought a few packages instead of deploying the technology
officewide.</p> <h3 id="information-blackout">Information Blackout</h3> <p>President
Joe Biden won plaudits early in his administration for prioritizing accessibility.
An interpreter has regularly translated Biden's speeches into sign language, and
the White House has provided captions for those watching online. The White House
press secretary is always accompanied by a sign language interpreter, and the
administration has provided live audio descriptions of White House events for
people with vision impairments.</p> <p>In June 2021, Biden issued an executive
order asking agencies “to improve accessibility, ensure accommodations can
be requested, increase opportunities for advancement and hiring, and reduce physical
accessibility barriers.”</p> <p>The Office of Management and Budget already
requires 24 agencies to file reports twice a year about the accessibility of their
technological infrastructure.</p> <p>But those reports aren’t public.
It’s part of a broader information blackout that Casey and four other
senators, Patty Murray (D-WA), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Mike
Braun (R-IN), and Richard Burr, (R-NC), called attention to in an
Aug. 11 letter to Comptroller General Eugene Dodaro.</p> <p>The senators
asked Dodaro, who runs Congress’s watchdog arm, the Government Accountability
Office, to investigate, writing that “the lack of public reporting and
accountability leaves Congress and taxpayers without adequate information about
the rate of compliance with disability access requirements.”</p>
<p>----------</p> <p>[PHOTO CAPTION: Trevor Tattenberg]</p> <h2
id="do-you-really-know-what-its-like">Do You Really Know What It’s Like?</h2>
<p><strong>by Trevor Tattenberg</strong></p> <p><strong>From the Editor: Trevor
has been in several states in which he has been a part of or has helped found a
National Association of Blind Students affiliated division. Among these are the
Massachusetts Association of Blind Students (MASSABS), Connecticut Association of
Blind Students (CTABS), and Oregon Association of Blind Students (ORABS). He has
also been a part of the At-Large Chapter of the NFB of Connecticut and the Portland
Central Chapter of the National Federation of the Blind of Oregon.</strong></p>
<p><strong>Trevor offers his opinion about the ways in which we will educate people
with sight, concluding that there is no magic bullet or no one way that will work.
Still he believes that we are better for any positive change we bring to folks
who need to learn what we want to teach. Our desire to have them know more than
they do is understandable, but our own lack of knowledge about so many people and
situations they confront demands a good bit of patience and understanding. Here
is what he calls his opinion piece:</strong></p> <p>The realization that we are
divergent from the norm doesn’t just come in a single flash. It happens
repeatedly, as marginalia—additions to our daily experience, as well as
slaps on the cheek, as though to awaken us from a daydream that things could be
otherwise. Even our closest sighted friends and family forget our needs, perhaps
not offering help where it is required, but nevertheless grabbing us by our clothes,
excluding us from social gatherings, or discouraging us from an adventure or career
pursuit. They rub in the fact of our differences, training and years of education
be damned.</p> <p>Wouldn’t it be nice to have a well-tested toolkit for
spreading understanding? If only people knew what it was like. Would we still be
poorly understood, ignored, avoided, persecuted, and simply treated as something
alien—angels with big floating question marks instead of halos above our
heads—by the people who can get away with calling themselves mainstream?
It seems unlikely.</p> <p>I’m a believer that knowledge is the most powerful
tool of all. Give me something that could enlighten a few close allies or the guy
that won’t hire me, and the payoff would be exponential. But can this even
be done?</p> <p>Purveyors of post-modern philosophy state that we really can’t
pretend to put ourselves in another’s shoes unless they are actually our
shoes. Such thinking is a driving force behind the backlash to everything from
having sighted persons play blind characters to having authors describe fictional
people that don’t fit their own ethnicity or religion. Their solution, if
any, is to let those repressed voices speak for themselves through direct
representation—a lofty order. Instead of dissecting this, I’ll touch
on a couple fine points of representation and its efficacy.</p> <p>I was accompanying
some teenaged students of mine from a blindness training center at the conclusion
of the National Federation of the Blind’s March for Independence in Detroit
back in 2009. This was a large-scale demonstration of blind people’s
solidarity, capabilities, and overlooked civil rights struggle. The crowd was
likely well over a thousand, many of whom were steadily employed laborers, college
students and graduates, successful professionals, parents, or some combination of
these. If popular statistics tell us anything, a likely majority struggled with
fulfilling aspirations, finding steady employment, and achieving financial
independence: all but the most delusional faced daily bouts with inaccessibility
and discrimination beyond quantifiability.</p> <p>Speaking then was successful
businessman, Hall of Fame Pistons’ legend, and city mayor Dave Bing.
There’s really only one thing I remember Mayor Bing saying, which is a lot
from a politician. It was a reference to a basketball-sustained injury, resulting
in a detached retina, temporary blindness, and a half-season’s worth of
games missed on the court. “I know what it’s like,” said
Mayor Bing.</p> <p>Did he though? Bing fully recovered his sight and health to
the point that he was back on the top of his legendary game in a few months.
I’m thinking that if anyone in the crowd was in a similar boat, they’d
be at home recovering and not invested in any kind of long-term campaign with a
crowd they’d hopefully soon not have to identify with. Temporary disability
is real disability, blindness included, and folks dealing with such conditions
deserve as much access and freedom from discrimination as anyone. But is it the
same as someone who’s lived the life of a blind person for years, with no
prospect of improved vision? Is switching the light off at night the same as going
blind? Is being asked to put on blindfolds or to sit in a darkened dining hall
and eat lunch the same as going day to day, adopting new adaptive skills, and
perceiving the deeply entrenched discrimination and poor, pitiful expectations
bestowed on blind people? I think not.</p> <p>Ample critics and scholarly inquiry
demonstrate that short-term simulations of blindness typically reinforce fears
and negative perceptions about people and their abilities. I’d surmise that
temporary blindness offers little in additional perspective. But wait, what do I
know? Twenty years ago, after a large reconstructive surgery on my face, I suffered
scratched corneas and needed to cover my face in bandages for weeks. Was I
experiencing total blindness for the first time? Not really. The visual experience
may have been similar, but I was largely still in recovery from the surgery at
this time, resting, weak, scared, and emaciated. I wasn’t really out trying
to acquire better cane skills, Braille-reading, or other adaptations that would
allow for a good livelihood as a totally blind person. I was busy seeing to it
that that unfamiliar path wouldn’t be mine. Alright for me.</p> <p>No sir,
I speak for blind people often enough, but I’m not even totally blind
myself. Few that identify as or legally qualify in the US as blind live without
color, shape, or light perception. I’d use the term total darkness to
describe having none of these perceptions, though most totally blind folks
I’ve talked to do not describe their lives in this way, particularly when
they’ve never had any vision.</p> <p>I’d still appreciate others
understanding what I go through. One thing I dislike doing is describing my own
eyesight. I don’t know what my acuity is, and too often the conversation
ends up being overly long and predictable, and it doesn’t result in any
productive change in behavior towards me. I prefer steering away from those
questions until everyone’s drunk and likely to whimsically switch gears
any second. Alcohol sometimes diminishes the importance of that big question mark
over my head.</p> <p>James Robinson, in his <em>Adapt Ability</em> video series
for the <em>New York Times</em>, attempts to present firsthand accounts of disability
through quick bios and artistic representations of what’s going on in the
disabled subjects’ bodies. The objective is to crack this veil of mystery
that separates out disabled people acutely from the main crowd. One such video,
entitled <em>“I’m Going Blind, but This is What I Want You to
See,”</em> looks at an individual with retinitis pigmentosa (RP)—a
relatively common congenital cause of progressive sight loss. I can’t see
the video very well myself, but it purports to show the viewer what seeing through
the eyes of someone with RP is like, including proliferating floaters and a
narrowing field. A useful message of the piece is the refutation of the baffling
all or nothing view of sight—that lights are on or off, and there’s
nothing in between. To this day, folks are shocked—even disappointed to
learn that I actually have some vision—like I’m just not the innocent,
unseeing phenomenon folks thought I was. I do not have RP myself, and my vision
has been mostly stable since early childhood. I tell people I remember when I had
better vision, but I don’t remember how this made my life any different.
But I do know dozens of people with RP and thus am cognizant that most of them
are quite a bit human like the rest of us.</p> <p>A question that people should
have about attempts to represent disability like this, whether from a first-person
account or from a distance, is does it do something like what I described from my
knowing a bunch of representatives? Does it make them look like humans? Have we
cracked the mystery of the floating question mark above the head so that we can
get around to talking about squirrels in the park, odd time-signatures, or the
antiquity of sandals?</p> <p>What I found problematic about the film is that it
focuses almost entirely on the subject’s declining vision. This isn’t
to say that we should ignore disability or blindness as something unimportant.
But when it is portrayed purely as what makes a person interesting, that’s
a bit out of proportion or so we would hope.</p> <p>One thing disabled people
could use is multidimensionality in the public mind’s eye. Being a blind
person does not mean being blindness incarnate. Let’s not make such conditions
more exotic than they already are. Perhaps by introducing unfamiliar conditions,
like RP and progressive sight loss, and by giving blind people human faces in
front of the camera, we’re seeing positive first steps.</p> <p>We need to
judge representational or message-based works of art on the results. I looked at
the <em>Access Ability</em> video’s comments on the <em>New York Times</em>
website and on YouTube. I saw what I both feared and expected—lots and lots
of “you are inspiring” and “makes me appreciate what I
got”—typical inspiration and pity, often in the same breath. Any
signs that people are picking up on the idea that disabled or blind individuals
just might not be the strange bearers of darkness they are regularly envisaged
as? None whatsoever so far as I can tell, and no wonder. This is just another
example of disability simulation, not far removed from telling people to eat in
the dark or accomplish a task with blindfolds on. In a nutshell, these lack the
context of an actual life lived. Unlike in the case of a person literally switching
the lights off or even the case of Mayor Bing, most blind people don’t get
to switch the lights back on. What they do get is to live their lives as disabled
people, including opportunities to learn, acquire unique skills through experience,
and adapt. But becoming disabled in an instant can be scary and confusing. No
wonder those just on the short ride aren’t exactly sketching disability as
something mundane. Even providing alternative impressions of blindness, like
portraits of progressive vision loss, and hosting a first-person narrative of the
matter doesn’t give us the representation we need.</p> <p>What will cut
the mustard? I speculate it will have less to do with artistic one-off jobs and
a few authentic representatives on the public stage, and more to do with opening
the floodgates so that blind and other disabled folks fill up the public commons:
media, the streets, the dirt paths, and buildings, on something like parity with
others. Then the question is, can this come without a vanguard? Won’t there
need to be people whose job it is to bring about acceptance, break ground, and
change the spoken and unspoken rules? Ideally no. We as disabled people need to
interfere and get in the way more than inspire.</p> <p>----------</p> <p>[PHOTO
CAPTION: Carla McQuillan]</p> <h2 id="the-2023-distinguished-educator-of-blind-students-award">The
2023 Distinguished Educator of Blind Students Award</h2> <p><strong>by Carla
McQuillan</strong></p> <p><strong>From the Editor: Carla McQuillan is the president
of the National Federation of the Blind of Oregon, a member of the national board
of directors, and the owner and executive director of Main Street Montessori
Association, operating two Montessori schools. She is the chairman of the
Distinguished Educator of Blind Students Award Committee, and she has written this
announcement seeking applications for the 2023 award:</strong></p> <p>The National
Federation of the Blind will recognize an outstanding teacher of blind students
at our 2023 National Convention, taking place in Houston, Texas, from July 1
through July 6th, 2023. The winner of this award will receive the following:</p>
<p>An expense-paid trip to attend the convention</p> <p>A check for $1,000</p>
<p>A commemorative plaque</p> <p>A place on the agenda of the annual meeting of
the National Organization of Parents of Blind Children to make a presentation
regarding the education of blind children, and</p> <p>The opportunity to attend
seminars and workshops that address the current state of education of blind
students, as well as a chance to meet and network with hundreds of blind individuals,
teachers, parents, and other professionals in the field.</p> <p>The education of
blind children is one of the National Federation of the Blind’s highest
priorities. We are committed to offering and supporting programs that enhance
educational opportunities for this group. Please help us recognize dedicated and
innovative teachers who provide quality education and meaningful experiences and
opportunities for their blind students.</p> <p>Q: Who is eligible for this award?</p>
<p>A: Anyone who is currently a teacher, counselor, or the administrator of programs
for blind students.</p> <p>Q: Does an applicant have to be a member of the National
Federation of the Blind?</p> <p>A: No, but attending the 2023 Convention of the
National Federation of the Blind in Houston, Texas, is required.</p> <p>Q: Can I
nominate someone else for this award?</p> <p>A: Yes. Applicants can be nominated
by colleagues, parents, supervisors, or friends who have first-hand knowledge of
the individual’s work with blind students.</p> <p>Q: How would I apply?</p>
<p>A: You can fill out the application at the end of this article or find it on
our website at <a
href="https://nfb.org/images/nfb/documents/pdf/distinguished-educator-of-blind-students-award-form-fillable.pdf">https://nfb.org/images/nfb/documents/pdf/distinguished-educator-of-blind-students-award-form-fillable.pdf</a></p>
<p>Q: What is the deadline to submit an application or make a nomination?</p>
<p>A: All applications must be received no later than May 1, 2023.</p> <p>Please
complete the application and attach the required documents specified in the
application. If you are submitting a nomination for someone other than yourself,
please answer the questions to the best of your ability. Your experience and
observations of the nominee will assist the selection committee in their decision.
Questions? Contact Carla McQuillan at 541-653-9153, or by email at: <a
href="mailto:president@nfb-oregon.org">president@nfb-oregon.org</a>.</p> <h3
id="national-federation-of-the-blind">National Federation of the Blind</h3> <h3
id="distinguished-educator-of-blind-students-award">Distinguished Educator of
Blind Students Award</h3> <h3 id="application">2023 Application</h3> <p>Deadline:
May 1, 2023</p> <p>Name: _______________________________________________________</p>
<p>Home Address: _________________________________________________</p> <p>City,
State, Zip: _________________________________________________</p> <p>Phone: (H)
____________________ (W) ____________________________</p> <p>Email:
______________________________________________________</p> <p>School/Program:
______________________________________________________</p> <p>Address:
_____________________________________________________</p> <p>City, State, Zip:
_________________________________________________</p> <p>Please list any awards
or commendations you have received.</p> <p>How long and in what programs have you
worked with blind children?</p> <p>In what setting do you currently work?</p>
<p>Briefly describe your current job and teaching responsibilities.</p> <p>How
would you describe your philosophy of blindness as it relates to the education of
blind students?</p> <p>What are your thoughts on teaching Braille and cane travel?
When and at what age would you begin? How do you determine whether to teach print
or Braille?</p> <p>What was your most memorable experience working with blind
students?</p> <p>Why should you be selected to receive this award?</p> <p>Email
is strongly encouraged for transmitting nominations; letters of support and other
relevant materials should be included as attachments. Applications sent by mail
and postmarked by the deadline will also be accepted. Send all material by May 1,
2023, to Carla McQuillan, chairperson, Teacher Award Committee, president@nfb-oregon.org
or by mail to:</p> <p>2378 11th Street</p> <p>Florence, OR 97439</p> <p>Phone:
541-653-9153</p> <p>----------</p> <p>[PHOTO CAPTION: Debbie Wunder]</p> <h2
id="what-do-we-do-to-help-blind-diabetics">What Do We Do to Help Blind Diabetics?</h2>
<p><strong>by Debbie Wunder</strong></p> <p><strong>From the Editor: Debbie is
the president of the National Federation of the Blind Diabetes Action Network or
DAN for short. In her article she defines why we have a division and what it
intends to do to help blind people who are or may soon be diabetics. Here is what
she says:</strong></p> <p>When we ask for and are granted division status in the
National Federation of the Blind, it is because we have a specific mission dealing
with blind people who have some special interest that requires our attention and
action. In no case could this be truer than with the Diabetes Action Network.
Diabetes is the leading cause of blindness, second only to aging. Unfortunately,
the medical attention required to test blood sugar and administer medication to
control it both require performing activities many newly blind people don't believe
they can do, and often the same is true for the medical professionals who serve
them. The emphasis is too often on the caretaker, and not enough emphasis is placed
on being independent or at the least interdependent.</p> <p>This is where we come
in. If you don't think you can care for yourself, then getting that care either
means being dependent on family members or being placed in an assisted living or
nursing facility. Neither option is good for those who can remain independent.
These facilities impose limits that are premature and cost more than living on
one's own. Part of our job is to let people know about the technology that they
can get to help them measure their blood sugar, label their medications, and, when
necessary, measure them. Part of the education is learning the skill; part is
coming to believe one can and that it is not risky or unreasonable to do so.</p>
<p>This would be plenty of work if that is all we had to do, but of course there
is more. As technology develops, the path for blind diabetics should become easier
to walk. But, like other technologies and perhaps even especially medical technology,
the assumption is that we won't be the operator of the equipment but the recipient
of the equipment that will be run by others, our caretakers.</p> <p>An insulin
pump can be a life saver for many diabetics because it can continuously monitor
blood sugar and administer small doses to control one’s blood sugar level
before it becomes elevated or depressed. The fewer the fluctuations in sugar, the
healthier those of us with diabetes are and the longer we are likely to live. But
do insulin pumps talk? They don't. Do they offer helpful beeps or clicks that make
it possible to use them? Again the answer is mostly they don't. The problem is
that the designers think of us as patients, not as responsible consumers who can
run equipment crucial to our health and well-being.</p> <p>So in addition to the
education we do for blind people, we are actively working with the developers of
insulin pumps, continuous glucose monitors, and medicine dispensers to ensure that
their designs give us a nonvisual way to do what others do to take care of their
medical needs privately and independently.</p> <p>Much of the technology we advocate
to have delivered accessibly in the Federation determines the quality of life we
enjoy, but in our division, what we bring to the table in terms of initiative,
ideas, and follow-through not only determines quality of life but may well determine
the length of that life and whether it is lived with freedom or enforced inactivity.
This may sound extreme, but ask people who are in assisted living and don’t
want to be just what they think of their lives. Then consider that often it doesn't
have to be this way. This makes the work of our division all the more serious,
because the way life turns out for people is often dependent both on them and on
us.</p> <p>If you are a diabetic, have been told you are on the path to becoming
one, or you just want to learn more about this disease, please consider joining
our division. You may write to me at <a
href="mailto:debbiewunder@charter.net">debbiewunder@charter.net</a>. You may also
join our listserv by going to <a href="https://www.nfbnet.org">https://www.nfbnet.org</a>
and clicking on Add or Drop mailing lists. Then search for Diabetes Talk, fill
out the simple form, and wait to receive a message asking if you truly want to
join. Reply to that message. You need not add or change anything; just do a blank
reply.</p> <p>Please join us in our march to achieve better health for blind
diabetics. Our health and yours depend on it.</p> <p>I have a motto that I try to
follow daily, just say AMEN to diabetes. Take Action, be Motivated, Exercise, and
practice good Nutrition. This is an acronym you can live by.</p> <p>----------</p>
<p>[PHOTO CAPTION: Kevin McNally smiles while cuddling with some donkeys.]</p>
<h2 id="i-am-waiting-to-go-blind">I am Waiting to Go Blind</h2> <p><strong>by
Kevin McNally</strong></p> <p><strong>From the Editor: Sometimes I dig for articles,
beg for articles, and wait interminably for them. But sometimes they come from
out of the blue. Such is the case with this one, and I’m very glad it
came.</strong></p> <p><strong>Kevin enjoys guitar, his pet chickens (yes, you read
that correctly), volunteering at his church, doing live sound production, playing
in his acoustic duo called Hat-Trick Unplugged, and hosting his podcast, <em>The
Kevin McNally Show.</em> Here is his contribution:</strong></p> <p>I was born with
a rare degenerative retina disease called retinitis pigmentosa. In the early 1970s,
my retina doctors at the Massachusetts Eye & Ear Infirmary in Boston informed
both me and my older brother with the same disease that we would be 100 percent
blind by our teen years.</p> <p>Not a fun diagnosis.</p> <p>Life went on, but it
went on with this overriding uneasiness that at any moment I could wake up, and
life as I knew it would be over. I’d be blind. There were sports, girlfriends,
vacations, proms, and more, but still, the uneasiness. I was waiting to go blind.</p>
<p>I was a happy child. My teen years turned into my twenties, and life went on.
These years brought college, a marriage, a move to Florida for a few years,
beginning law school, and being in a rock band. I was still waiting to go blind,
but life went on.</p> <p>In my thirties, I was blessed with my two daughters. I
graduated law school, passed the bar, traveled, and enjoyed a blossoming career.
I was still waiting to go blind.</p> <p>My forties brought a very difficult divorce,
a successful rock band, trips to Kenya, and the realization of my biggest fear:
that when I go blind, I will never see my daughters’ faces again. I was
terrified. Yet, I was still waiting to go blind.</p> <p>I am in my early fifties
now, and I am still waiting to go blind. My vision has decreased, and I gave up
driving years ago. I am grateful, though. I have a full-time job, I am very active
in the blindness and low vision space, I still play music, and I am happily
remarried. However, I am still waiting to go blind.</p> <p>As ominous as this
repeated refrain sounds, vision loss has been a blessing in my life. Although I
have been waiting to go blind for fifty years, vision loss and the threat of
complete blindness has served to motivate me. As a result, I do not sweat the
small stuff, and I know that almost everything day to day is small stuff.</p>
<p>Since my earliest years, I have known what it is like to have a disease you
cannot control. The upside of this fact is that I clearly understand those things
that I can control and those things that I cannot. The early realization that I
control almost nothing is the blessing of vision loss.</p> <p>I am still waiting
to go blind, but I am not waiting around for it to happen. When and if it does,
I no longer feel the sky will fall; I will still be Kevin McNally, and the world
will still be what I make it.</p> <p>---------</p> <p>[PHOTO CAPTION: Nancy
Coffman]</p> <h2
id="the-national-federation-of-the-blind-of-nebraska-celebrates-blind-equality-achievement-month">The
National Federation of The Blind of Nebraska Celebrates Blind Equality Achievement
Month</h2> <p><strong>by Nancy Coffman</strong></p> <p><strong>From the Editor:
Nancy Coffman joined the National Federation of the Blind in the 1980s as a student
in Colorado. She has served in a variety of chapter and state positions and is
currently the president of the National Federation of the Blind of Nebraska’s
Lincoln Chapter. She is also a member of the board of the National Federation of
the Blind of Nebraska. She works as a technology instructor at the Nebraska Center
for the Blind and is a willing helper on our listservs. Here is one of the things
they did in Nebraska:</strong></p> <p>Members of the National Federation of the
Blind of Nebraska’s Lincoln, Omaha, and At-Large Chapters joined with the
Omaha Running Club on Sunday, October 2nd for Furlongs for Paws. Members of the
running club are fundraising for a trip to London, where they will run a marathon
to support dog guide services in England. NFB members walked, ran, and helped to
distribute packets to race participants. Packets included a Braille alphabet card
and information about the NFB. Members of the Lincoln Chapter and our student
division also helped on Saturday, October 1st, to greet runners and distribute
packets and T-shirts. Members gave runners a card with their name in Braille and
interacted with them about the NFB. The running club is considering a fundraiser
for the National Federation of the Blind of Nebraska next fall. Nearly ninety
runners and walkers participated in the 25th-furlong race. The race was timed,
and medals were given to runners and walkers. We are hoping this will be a
long-standing relationship.</p> <p>----------</p> <p>[PHOTO CAPTION: Peggy Chong]</p>
<h2 id="nfbco-celebrates-the-completion-of-its-phd-project">NFBCO Celebrates the
Completion of its PHD Project</h2> <p><strong>by Peggy Chong</strong></p>
<p><strong>From the Editor: Peggy Chong is often called the Blind History Lady
and for good reason. She is obsessed with writing down the history of blind people
that, if not captured soon, will go away. She mourns what has been lost and is
looking for people to join with her so that what happens today and in the future
doesn’t become lost to history. Here is what she has to say about a recent
event in Colorado:</strong></p> <p>On Friday, October 14, 2022, many gathered at
the Colorado Center for the Blind in Littleton, Colorado, to meet in person the
ladies behind the keyboards for the NFBCO’s Preservation of Historical
Documents (PHD) project.</p> <p>Julie Hunter, long-time member of the NFB of
Colorado worked diligently to preserve the old records discovered after a water
leak a few years back. In 2018 she told me about the old records they found, dating
back to 1915. We looked through them together and marveled at what there was and
what was missing. The two of us visited with archivists and librarians to learn
the best place to start. For months the two of us sorted and resorted the old
files, minutes, letters, news articles, and more.</p> <p>Early in 2019 I began
reaching out to volunteer groups to talk about the PHD project, raise funds for
it, and find volunteers who could transcribe the scanned files that were still
unreadable. Few understood the importance of the project or our need for
volunteers.</p> <p>By the end of February, 2020, Julie and I were ready to send
the boxes of sorted records to DocuTek, a professional document scanning service.
Then COVID shut everything down. For a few months nothing happened. As businesses
began to reopen, DocuTek picked up our files, and in about a month, we had a flash
drive with great PDF and OCR’d files, most of them unreadable by the
blind.</p> <p>We began reaching out to the organizations and contacts from the
previous year. Some showed more interest in volunteering if they could do it from
home. Other organizations had shut down. Slowly, we recruited one volunteer, then
another.</p> <p>Not all volunteers were able to complete an assignment. We wanted
the material to reflect the original file, including any misspellings. However,
that did not mean that we could make spelling or formatting errors ourselves. If
a volunteer was not able to complete a file with only one or two mistakes, the
volunteer was replaced.</p> <p>By the fall of 2021, we were the project to volunteer
for. More than one hundred volunteers spent several thousand hours transcribing
our old records and other material discovered during the past two years. By March
of 2022, the last file was returned.</p> <p>The next step was to find a librarian
who could help us put the material in a format that would be pleasing to libraries
where we could give our electronic files as part of their collection. We sent out
emails, letters, and made phone calls to potential librarians beginning in the
fall of 2021. Not until May of 2022 were we able to find a professor and her
students willing to take on the project.</p> <p>Not being librarians ourselves,
Julie and I expressed our desire about the way our blind history of Colorado should
be preserved. When we met with the interested professor in May of 2022, she talked
with us about a new platform where small collections such as ours were being housed
in a “virtual” library. She explained that we would have control
over our content and that the history of the blind of Colorado would be free and
available to anyone who used the virtual library from anywhere in the world. This
sounded perfect. Ashley Love, the student now graduated, is still in the process
of uploading our files to the Colorado Virtual Library. Researchers are now able
to learn the history of the blind movement in Colorado from the blind themselves.</p>
<p>A book of about eighty pages in length was prepared as a final document for
the project. The book demonstrates the significance and potential of our archives.
Several sets of minutes, at least one from each decade, included in the book
highlight some of the projects and legislation worked on by the blind since 1915.
Sixteen short biographies of the leaders of the blind movement in Colorado along
with photographs highlight the successes of the blind in Colorado as individuals
and as a part of creating a better life for those yet to come.</p> <p>That brings
us to October 14, 2022, at the Colorado Center for the Blind. The NFBCO hosted a
celebration to mark the completion of the PHD project as outlined back in January
of 2019. We invited all the volunteers, funders, friends, and Federationists to
help us celebrate.</p> <p>A display of some of the old records volunteers only
saw in a PDF was there to peruse. Most documents are not in a condition to be
handled often so remained in the basement. Plaques dating back to the 1930s as
well as writing guides and slates and styluses were also on display.</p> <p>State
Representative David Ortiz, himself disabled, spoke to the assembled about the
importance of knowing our history as disabled people. He told us that until he
saw for himself another disabled person elected to public office, he did not think
a disabled person had ever or could ever be an elected leader. Now, Representative
Ortiz encourages all disabled individuals to get involved, be a part of the
political process, and run for public office. He was impressed with the accomplishments
of the blind of Colorado listed in the souvenir book he was given.</p> <p>Awards
were presented. Nikki Tennant, one of the first volunteers, completed her first
file in August of 2020 and she completed her last file in February of 2022. She
was the longest serving PHD volunteer.</p> <p>An award was presented to FirstBank
for providing thirty-nine volunteers for the project. FirstBank has a program for
employees to give back to the community through volunteering. Each employee is
rewarded for completing sixteen hours of voluntarism each year. Some did their
sixteen hours and left, while others completed many more hours of transcribing.
Debora McCurdy accepted the plaque on behalf of FirstBank.</p> <p>Nichole Chrissis,
Archivist for the tenBroek Library, accepted a flash drive with all the files in
our NFBCO history collection. The thumb drive included more files than will be
available through the Colorado Virtual Library such as audio interviews, additional
legal cases, very old news clippings about blindness in general, and other
blindness-related material based in Colorado, but not part of our original
archives.</p> <p>Please check out our history at <a
href="https://nfbco.cvlcollections.org/">https://nfbco.cvlcollections.org/</a>.
Share our link with blind students, schools for the blind, and NFB leaders. Our
history makes great discussion topics for chapter meetings and seminars.</p>
<p>---------</p> <p>[PHOTO CAPTION: Heather Bird with her guide dog Ilsa]</p> <h2
id="promoting-current-event-and-media-literacy-with-nfb-newsline-a-parents-perspective">Promoting
Current Event and Media Literacy with NFB-NEWSLINE: A Parent's Perspective</h2>
<p><strong>by Heather Bird</strong></p> <p><strong>From the Editor: The National
Federation of the Blind of New York has a newsletter focusing on NFB-NEWSLINE®,
and this article is taken from it with appreciation:</strong></p> <p>This month's
<em>NFBNY-NEWSLINE</em> subscriber contributor is Heather Bird. Ms. Bird lives in
Rochester, New York, with her husband and two children.</p> <p>In the NFB we stress
the importance of Braille literacy. However, today literacy has taken on many
forms. One of these forms is media literacy or being media savvy. I certainly
encourage Braille literacy for both of my boys, who are blind, but I also work
hard to make them as media literate as possible.</p> <p>Listening to news stories
on the radio or television isn't a bad place to start, but it is a very bad place
to stop. There may be a temptation with kids, because of their somewhat shorter
attention spans, to stick to stories that they can "watch" or "listen to" on the
radio or the TV. It is true that listening or watching a news story can make the
news accessible, especially if the televised news program is audio-described.
However, it is important to get children to understand that what fits into a sound
bite or predefined clip length doesn't always provide the complete story. As a
parent I stress to my children the importance of reading a full newspaper or
magazine article as one way of getting a more detailed and hopefully broader
picture of current events.</p> <p>For a child with a print-related disability,
NFB-NEWSLINE is a fantastic resource for increasing media literacy. One helpful
exercise you can do with a child is to have them watch a short news story on the
television or listen to one on the radio. Then, using NFB-NEWSLINE, find an article
on the same incident, event, or topic in a newspaper or magazine, and ask them
critical thinking questions about how much more information was given and how
differently it was presented and explained in the various forms of media.</p>
<p>Recently, I was working in the kitchen and listening to NPR on my Amazon Echo
Plus. My son overheard a story about a controversial and sensitive topic, the
pro-life versus pro-choice issue. At such a moment, it is tempting to shape a
child's view on such a difficult and controversial subject.</p> <p>I decided not
to do that. Instead, we talked about how the station I was listening to was
generally considered to be a liberal news source. We also talked about how the
stories shared on radio are often going to be, much like those on television,
simplified and shortened compared to those which can appear in print media.</p>
<p>So, we got on NFB-NEWSLINE and found a few articles on each side of the issue,
from varying perspectives. We also accessed a scientific article from a magazine
rather than articles strictly from newspapers. We then got into a discussion about
the Constitution and United States history. We did more research on the topic
using Bookshare.org, an accessible digital library containing over a million books.
In addition, we accessed the Braille and Audio Reading Download application (BARD)
from the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled (NLS), which
also provides access to hundreds of thousands of recorded and Braille books.</p>
<p>In the end my child made up his own mind about the issue, after exploring
various viewpoints and perspectives. Having a child who is blind or otherwise
unable to read print doesn't mean you can't help them become a citizen of the
world, an explorer, a researcher, a scientist, a journalist, or a critical thinker.
In fact, with resources such as NFB-NEWSLINE, you have increased opportunities to
help them to achieve these goals.</p> <p>I recommend signing up your child for
NFB-NEWSLINE, a service that is entirely free to the user and intended for anyone
with a print-related disability. This will give your child access to hundreds of
newspapers and magazines that can be accessed using a landline phone, smartphone,
Alexa device, specialized readers such as the Victor Reader Stream, the portable
book player provided free of charge by the National Library Service, and through
the web on a desktop or laptop computer.</p> <p>NFB-NEWSLINE has content for
younger readers. However, for younger children, I recommend that parents preview
and download suitable articles from the "Kids Reading Corner" of the magazines
section. Then use this material to let them develop and practice their technology
and reading skills.</p> <p>NFB-NEWSLINE is an excellent resource to foster
development of Braille reading and writing skills either by producing hard copy
Braille content, using a Braille display, and/or showing a student how to access
and download content from NFB-NEWSLINE to a Braille notetaker or other device
capable of producing Braille.</p> <p>As the child matures, NFB-NEWSLINE can serve
as an excellent resource to teach basic media literacy, research, and notetaking
skills. An older child can access NFB-NEWSLINE content using any of the platforms
and devices through which NFB-NEWSLINE content can be retrieved and read.</p>
<p>While every child has differing needs, I recommend that you do everything you
can to encourage blind children to use a Braille display, paired with their computer
or smart device, whenever possible. Subtleties, such as the spelling of a politician's
name, the letters that make up an acronym representing an organization, or the
exact words in a speech are going to be more readily absorbed if read in Braille.
This will also aid in citing sources of information for a school assignment.</p>
<p>The sign-up process for NFB-NEWSLINE is relatively simple. I recommend NFB-NEWSLINE
as a place to start working with a child on technology and media literacy because
of the large volume of accessible and current information provided by the service
daily.</p> <p>If you are looking for additional reading services for a member of
your family who can't access print due to a disability, I recommend the National
Library Service, Bookshare.org, and Learning Ally, all invaluable services with
thousands of recorded and digital books.</p> <p>Today there are a large and growing
number of free and commercial sources of online books and magazines available with
varying degrees of accessibility. However, NFB-NEWSLINE was and remains a pioneer
in bringing barrier-free newspapers, magazines, and other information to people
who can't access print due to a disability. Whether you are a parent or a teacher,
I encourage you to make use of NFB-NEWSLINE as a learning tool for your child or
student.</p> <p>----------</p> <p>[PHOTO CAPTION: Curtis Chong]</p> <h2
id="tech-tips">Tech Tips</h2> <p><strong>by Curtis Chong</strong></p> <p><strong>From
the Editor: Having a draft mode for writing email is splendid when one realizes
the quality of what is being written isn't quite up to the inspiration to communicate.
Curtis explains how to write a message, save it as a draft, and return to it when
ready to produce a finished product. This piece is taken from the <em>Blind
Coloradan</em>, the newsletter/blog of the NFB of Colorado. Here is the way the
article was introduced:</strong></p> <p>From the aggregator: We frequently feature
tech tips from our guru Curtis Chong. We were happy to receive this note just
before posting this blog.</p> <p>Drafts have been a feature in the iOS Mail app
for a while, but many users aren't aware of this hidden gem. The feature (like
its macOS Mail counterpart) allows users to stop composing an email, save it, and
then return to the message later to send it. Let's see what's involved in using
the drafts feature in all versions of iOS.</p> <p>First, compose an email by
performing these steps.</p> <p>1. Open Mail.</p> <p>2. Select (double tap for
VoiceOver users) the Compose button.</p> <p>3. Start to fill out the subject and
body of the message.</p> <p>4. To save the message as a draft, tap (double tap
for VoiceOver users) the Cancel button, and then tap (double tap for VoiceOver
users) Save Draft in the pop-up that appears. The message will disappear, but it
will be saved in the Drafts folder.</p> <p>To open a saved draft, tap and hold
(single-finger triple tap for VoiceOver users) on the new message's Compose button
in the toolbar (the same one you tapped to create a new message). A Drafts pop-up
will appear.</p> <p>In this view, you will see a listing of all available drafts
that can be continued. To continue a draft, tap it (VoiceOver users, double tap
it), and a new Compose view will open that has all of the message details filled
in as you left them when saving. When you're finished composing the draft, select
(double tap on) the Send button as normal to send the message to the recipient.</p>
<p>----------</p> <h2 id="constitution-of-the-national-federation-of-the-blind">Constitution
of the National Federation of the Blind</h2> <p>Amended July 9, 2022</p> <h3
id="article-i.-name"><strong>ARTICLE I. NAME</strong> </h3> <p>The name of this
organization is the National Federation of the Blind.</p> <h3
id="article-ii.-purpose"><strong>ARTICLE II. PURPOSE</strong> </h3> <p>The purpose
of the National Federation of the Blind is to serve as a vehicle for collective
action by the blind of the nation; to function as a mechanism through which the
blind and interested sighted persons can come together in local, state, and national
meetings to plan and carry out programs to improve the quality of life for the
blind; to provide a means of collective action for parents of blind children; to
promote the vocational, cultural, and social advancement of the blind; to achieve
the integration of the blind into society on a basis of equality with the sighted;
and to take any other action which will improve the overall condition and standard
of living of the blind.</p> <h3 id="article-iii.-membership"><strong>ARTICLE III.
MEMBERSHIP</strong> </h3> <p><strong>Section A.</strong> The membership of the
National Federation of the Blind shall consist of the members of the state
affiliates, the members of divisions, and members at-large. Members of divisions
and members at-large shall have the same rights, privileges, and responsibilities
in the National Federation of the Blind as members of state affiliates.</p> <p>The
board of directors shall establish procedures for admission of divisions and shall
determine the structure of divisions. The divisions shall, with the approval of
the board, adopt constitutions and determine their membership policies. Membership
in divisions shall not be conditioned upon membership in state affiliates.</p>
<p>The board of directors shall establish procedures for admission of members
at-large, determine how many classes of such members shall be established, and
determine the annual dues to be paid by members of each class.</p> <p><strong>Section
B.</strong> Each state or territorial possession of the United States, including
the District of Columbia, having an affiliate shall have one vote at the National
Convention. These organizations shall be referred to as state affiliates.</p>
<p><strong>Section C.</strong> State affiliates shall be organizations of the
blind controlled by the blind. No organization shall be recognized as an "organization
of the blind controlled by the blind" unless at least a majority of its voting
members and a majority of the voting members of each of its local chapters are
blind.</p> <p><strong>Section D.</strong> The board of directors shall establish
procedures for the admission of state affiliates. There shall be only one state
affiliate in each state.</p> <p><strong>Section E.</strong> Any local chapter,
state affiliate, or division of this organization may be suspended, expelled, or
otherwise disciplined for misconduct or for activity unbecoming to a member or
affiliate of this organization by a two-thirds vote of the board of directors or
by a simple majority of the states present and voting at a National Convention.
If the action is to be taken by the board, there must be good cause, and a good
faith effort must have been made to try to resolve the problem by discussion and
negotiation. If the action is to be taken by the Convention, notice must be given
on the preceding day at an open board meeting or a session of the Convention. If
a dispute arises as to whether there was "good cause," or whether the board made
a "good faith effort," the National Convention (acting in its capacity as the
supreme authority of the Federation) shall have the power to make final disposition
of the matter; but until or unless the board's action is reversed by the National
Convention, the ruling of the board shall continue in effect.</p> <p><strong>Section
F.</strong> Any member of this organization may be suspended, expelled, or otherwise
disciplined for misconduct or for activity unbecoming to a member of this
organization, and any non-member may have their engagement in the organization
restricted, through standards and procedures established, maintained, and regularly
reviewed by the board of directors. These standards will be publicly available
as a Code of Conduct for the organization, and members will be provided with
opportunities to give feedback on the Code on a periodic basis set by the board.</p>
<p>While considering disciplinary actions taken by the board either directly or
through the procedures it establishes, there must be good cause, and a good faith
effort must have been made to hear the concerns of all parties involved. With
regard to handling reports of violations of the Code, the board will establish
policies and procedures on how such reports will be investigated and then
resolved. Any person subject to a ruling under these policies and procedures
may appeal that ruling to the board, which may elect to have a subcommittee of
the board handle the appeal. However, any three members of the board may, through
written request, initiate a full board review of any disciplinary decision issued
under the Code of Conduct. The procedures maintained by the board must provide
individuals with clear guidance regarding their right to an appeal, the process
for requesting an appeal, and the standards used in the board’s review of
the appeal.</p> <p>Any person subject to disciplinary action by the board issued
through the procedures and policies authorized by this section may appeal the
board’s final decision to the National Convention. Such an appeal must be
filed in writing and within thirty days of the board’s decision. The written
request shall be submitted to the President and must be signed by five delegates
to the next Convention who support hearing the appeal. Notice of the appeal hearing
must be given on the preceding day at an open board meeting or a session of the
Convention. Due to the sensitive nature of certain matters, any disciplinary action
to be considered by the Convention will only be considered in a closed committee
meeting consisting of the delegates present and voting and the Federation’s
President. The committee shall be chaired by the President unless a conflict of
interest prevents the President from chairing the committee, in which case the
delegates shall elect one of the other delegates present who does not have a
conflict to preside over the meeting. All efforts will be made in any disciplinary
meeting to protect the identity of individuals who were harmed. A matter that has
not been fully investigated shall never be considered by the Convention. If a
dispute arises as to whether there was "good cause," or whether the board made a
"good faith effort," the National Convention (acting in its capacity as the supreme
authority of the Federation) shall have the power to make final disposition of
the matter; but until or unless the board's action is reversed by the National
Convention, the ruling of the board shall continue in effect.</p> <h3
id="article-iv.-officers-board-of-directors-and-national-advisory-board"><strong>ARTICLE
IV. OFFICERS, BOARD OF DIRECTORS, AND NATIONAL ADVISORY BOARD</strong></h3>
<p><strong>Section A.</strong> The officers of the National Federation of the
Blind shall be: (1) president, (2) first vice president, (3) second vice president,
(4) secretary, and (5) treasurer. They shall be elected biennially.</p>
<p><strong>Section B.</strong> The officers shall be elected by majority vote of
the state affiliates present and voting at a National Convention.</p> <p><strong>Section
C.</strong> The National Federation of the Blind shall have a board of directors,
which shall be composed of the five officers and twelve additional members, six
of whom shall be elected at the Annual Convention during even-numbered years and
six of whom shall be elected at the Annual Convention during odd-numbered years.
The members of the board of directors shall serve for two-year terms. Biennially,
during even-numbered years, at the first meeting of the board of directors following
the convention at which officers and Board Members are elected, the board of
directors shall select a Chairperson from among its members who shall not be the
same person as the President and who shall serve without compensation.</p>
<p><strong>Section D.</strong> The board of directors may, in its discretion,
create a national advisory board and determine the duties and qualifications of
the members of the national advisory board.</p> <h3
id="article-v.-powers-and-duties-of-the-convention-the-board-of-directors-and-the-president"><strong>ARTICLE
V. POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE CONVENTION, THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS, AND THE
PRESIDENT</strong></h3> <p><strong>Section A. Powers and Duties of the
Convention.</strong> The Convention is the supreme authority of the Federation.
It is the legislature of the Federation. As such, it has final authority with
respect to all issues of policy. Its decisions shall be made after opportunity
has been afforded for full and fair discussion. Delegates and members in attendance
may participate in all Convention discussions as a matter of right. Any member of
the Federation may make or second motions, propose nominations, serve on committees,
and is eligible for election to office, except that only blind members may be
elected to the national board. Voting and making motions by proxy are prohibited.
Consistent with the democratic character of the Federation, Convention meetings
shall be so conducted as to prevent parliamentary maneuvers which would have the
effect of interfering with the expression of the will of the majority on any
question, or with the rights of the minority to full and fair presentation of
their views. The Convention is not merely a gathering of representatives of separate
state organizations. It is a meeting of the Federation at the national level in
its character as a national organization. Committees of the Federation are committees
of the national organization. The nominating committee shall consist of one member
from each state affiliate represented at the Convention, and each state affiliate
shall appoint its member to the committee. From among the members of the committee,
the president shall appoint a chairperson.</p> <p><strong>Section B. Powers and
Duties of the Board of Directors.</strong> The function of the board of directors
as the governing body of the Federation between Conventions is to make policies
when necessary and not in conflict with the policies adopted by the Convention.
Policy decisions which can reasonably be postponed until the next meeting of the
National Convention shall not be made by the board of directors. The board of
directors shall serve as a credentials committee. It shall have the power to deal
with organizational problems presented to it by any member, local chapter, state
affiliate, or division; shall decide appeals regarding the validity of elections
in local chapters, state affiliates, or divisions; and shall certify the credentials
of delegates when questions regarding the validity of such credentials arise. By
a two-thirds vote the board may suspend one of its members for violation of a
policy of the organization or for other action unbecoming to a member of the
Federation. By a two-thirds vote the board may reorganize any local chapter, state
affiliate, or division. The board may not suspend one of its own members or
reorganize a local chapter, state affiliate, or division except for good cause
and after a good-faith effort has been made to try to resolve the problem by
discussion and negotiation. If a dispute arises as to whether there was "good
cause," or whether the board made a "good-faith effort," the National Convention
(acting in its capacity as the supreme authority of the Federation) shall have
the power to make final disposition of the matter; but until or unless the board's
action is reversed by the National Convention, the ruling of the board shall
continue in effect. There shall be a standing subcommittee of the board of directors
which shall consist of three members. The committee shall be known as the subcommittee
on budget and finance. It shall, whenever it deems necessary, recommend to the
board of directors principles of budgeting, accounting procedures, and methods of
financing the Federation program; and shall consult with the president on major
expenditures.</p> <p>The board of directors shall meet at the time of each National
Convention. It shall hold other meetings on the call of the president or on the
written request of any five members.</p> <p><strong>Section C. Powers and Duties
of the President.</strong> The president is the principal administrative officer
of the Federation. In this capacity his or her duties consist of carrying out the
policies adopted by the Convention; conducting the day-to-day management of the
affairs of the Federation; authorizing expenditures from the Federation treasury
in accordance with and in implementation of the policies established by the
Convention; appointing all committees of the Federation except the nominating
committee; coordinating all activities of the Federation, including the work of
other officers and of committees; hiring, supervising, and dismissing staff members
and other employees of the Federation, and determining their numbers and compensation;
taking all administrative actions necessary and proper to put into effect the
programs and accomplish the purposes of the Federation. The implementation and
administration of the interim policies adopted by the board of directors are the
responsibility of the president as principal administrative officer of the
Federation.</p> <h3 id="article-vi.-state-affiliates"><strong>ARTICLE VI. STATE
AFFILIATES</strong> </h3> <p>Any organized group desiring to become a state
affiliate of the National Federation of the Blind shall apply for affiliation by
submitting to the president of the National Federation of the Blind a copy of its
constitution and a list of the names and addresses of its elected officers. Under
procedures to be established by the board of directors, action shall be taken on
the application. If the action is affirmative, the National Federation of the
Blind shall issue to the organization a charter of affiliation. Upon request of
the national president, the state affiliate shall provide to the national president
the names and addresses of its members. Copies of all amendments to the constitution
and/or bylaws of an affiliate shall be sent without delay to the national president.
No organization shall be accepted as an affiliate and no organization shall remain
an affiliate unless at least a majority of its voting members are blind. The
president, vice president (or vice presidents), and at least a majority of the
executive committee or board of directors of the state affiliate and of all of
its local chapters must be blind. Affiliates must not merely be social organizations
but must formulate programs and actively work to promote the economic and social
betterment of the blind. Affiliates and their local chapters must comply with the
provisions of the constitution of the Federation.</p> <p>Policy decisions of the
Federation are binding upon all affiliates and local chapters, and the affiliate
and its local chapters must participate affirmatively in carrying out such policy
decisions. The name <em>National Federation of the Blind, Federation of the
Blind</em>, or any variant thereof is the property of the National Federation of
the Blind; and any affiliate or local chapter of an affiliate which ceases to be
part of the National Federation of the Blind (for whatever reason) shall forthwith
forfeit the right to use the name <em>National Federation of the Blind, Federation
of the Blind,</em> or any variant thereof.</p> <p>A general convention of the
membership of an affiliate or of the elected delegates of the membership must be
held and its principal executive officers must be elected at least once every two
years. There can be no closed membership. Proxy voting is prohibited in state
affiliates and local chapters. Each affiliate must have a written constitution or
bylaws setting forth its structure, the authority of its officers, and the basic
procedures which it will follow. No publicly contributed funds may be divided
among the membership of an affiliate or local chapter on the basis of membership,
and (upon request from the national office) an affiliate or local chapter must
present an accounting of all of its receipts and expenditures. An affiliate or
local chapter must not indulge in attacks upon the officers, board members, leaders,
or members of the Federation or upon the organization itself outside of the
organization, and must not allow its officers or members to indulge in such attacks.
This requirement shall not be interpreted to interfere with the right of an
affiliate or local chapter, or its officers or members, to carry on a political
campaign inside the Federation for election to office or to achieve policy changes.
However, the organization will not sanction or permit deliberate, sustained
campaigns of internal organizational destruction by state affiliates, local
chapters, or members. No affiliate or local chapter may join or support, or allow
its officers or members to join or support, any temporary or permanent organization
inside the Federation which has not received the sanction and approval of the
Federation.</p> <h3 id="article-vii.-dissolution"><strong>ARTICLE VII.
DISSOLUTION</strong> </h3> <p>In the event of dissolution, all assets of the
organization shall be given to an organization with similar purposes which has
received a 501(c)(3) certification by the Internal Revenue Service.</p> <h3
id="article-viii.-amendments"><strong>ARTICLE VIII. AMENDMENTS</strong> </h3>
<p>This constitution may be amended at any regular Annual Convention of the
Federation by an affirmative vote of two-thirds of the state affiliates registered,
present, and voting; provided that the proposed amendment shall have been signed
by five state affiliates in good standing and that it shall have been presented
to the president the day before final action by the Convention.</p> <p>----------</p>
<h2 id="monitor-miniatures"><em>Monitor</em> Miniatures </h2> <h3
id="news-from-the-federation-family">News from the Federation Family</h3>
<p><strong>Save the Date & Get Reading List Ready</strong></p> <p>The National
Federation of the Blind is proud to partner with the American Action Fund for
Blind Children and Adults for the 2022-2023 Braille Readers Are Leaders contest.
This Braille literacy contest is for students and adults learning Braille across
the US to compete against participants in similar contest categories for seven
weeks. Participants will:</p> <ul> <li><p>Register and log minutes read each day
online using Beanstack</p></li> <li><p>Log the number of minutes read. Earn prizes
and fun badges</p></li> <li><p>Read the most minutes in your category and receive
a cash prize in addition to all other prizes earned.</p></li> <li><p>Earn entries
into a drawing for a fabulous grand prize! The more minutes you read, the more
entries you earn.</p></li> </ul> <p>The contest will begin on December 5, 2022,
and run through January 23, 2023. Registration opens November 7. Get your reading
list ready. We are excited to get started reading with you!</p> <p>Encourage more
Braille. Improve reading skills. Win prizes.</p> <h3 id="braille-book-resources">Braille
Book Resources</h3> <p>Expand your child’s Braille library and toolbox.
Check out the Braille storybook resources webpage (<a
href="https://www.actionfund.org/resources/Braille-book-resources">https://www.actionfund.org/resources/Braille-book-resources</a>)
for information on free books, lending libraries, and Braille book retailers.</p>
<p><strong>Elected:</strong></p> <p>On Sunday, October 9, 2022, the National
Federation of the Blind of Indiana conducted elections with the following results:</p>
<p>Kane Brolin, president; Lee Martin, first vice president; Raymond Montgomery,
second vice president; Abigail Fleenor, secretary; Misty Kienzynski, treasurer;
and board members Dr. Evette Simmons-Reed; and Alex Gilland. In addition, two
hold-over slots remain occupied: Tammy Hollingsworth; and Tyler Sherck.</p> <p>We
wish all of you success in your new positions.</p> <p>----------</p> <h2
id="nfb-pledge">NFB Pledge</h2> <p>I pledge to participate actively in the efforts
of the National Federation of the Blind to achieve equality, opportunity, and
security for the blind; to support the policies and programs of the Federation;
and to abide by its constitution.</p> </body> </html>