Dr. Laura’s Powerful Plea to Save Terri!

by

I agree with Dr. Laura only about 60 percent of the time. I feel that she tends to approach most issues with extreme harshness and inflexibility, without sufficient empathy toward those whom ask for her advice.

When it comes to Terri Schiavo, I must say that Dr. Laura is right on in her pleas for Michael Schiavo to do the right thing, to get a divorce and let custody of Terri fall to her parents so that the feeding tube may be reinserted and her life saved. You can read and listen to Dr. Laura’s recent powerful statements. Regardless of your philosophical differences with Dr. Laura, you have to admit that she does deeply care about what happens to people!

Karen’s Plea to Florida Governor Bush to Act Now to Save Terri!

by

March 25, 2005

Dear Governor Bush,

I am a 41 year old disabled woman who would like to express my concerns
regarding the Terri Schiavo case.

Like many disabled people, I was misdiagnosed by my Doctors at birth. In 1964 I had congenital toxoplasmosis. This is a parasitic infectious disease. Cats are the main carriers. When pregnant women come into contact with cat litter or eat raw meat, they can be affected by the parasite, ultimately transmitting the disease to their unborn children. This is what happened to me. Any newborn with this disease is likely to have multiple disabilities. They include blindness, deafness, mental retardation,
and problems with motor development. I was two months premature and had pneumonia at only five days of age. The doctors
were uncertain of my prognosis and told my parents that I would not be
capable of much, would be an ill child and would be lucky if I could graduate
High school.

Despite the fact that I had some brain damage, lacked motor ability and was almost totally blind, my Parents did everything they could to help improve the quality of my life. They wanted the best for me and got me treatment at a prestigious Center
that treats children and adults with Brain injuries. They had heard about two
Doctors Glen Domen and Karral Delgado who were performing patterning on me and
others whom have similar problems. Patterning is a method of training
the healthy cells to compensate for the damaged areas of the brain that no longer perform the tasks and functions they are supposed to fulfill. This process can and usually will take years if the person is to recover and
increase their ability to perform basic tasks and later graduate to more advanced functioning. This was exactly the case with me. I was on this patterning program for at
least 5 years until I began kindergarten.

If it was not for my Parents and those Doctors at the Institute of the
Achievement of Human Potential, I would not be who I am today. I have met
other people that have the same condition as I, and some of them are not as
fortunate. They have multiple disabilities: learning disabilities and
motor development problems. I believe, if my Parents listened to some of those Doctors 40 years ago, I
would not be the successful person I am today. Although I am totally blind, I do not have any other severe disabilities. In
fact, I have graduated from College with a BA in Psychology and I am presently
employed. I am a professional whom works in the Hospitality
industry.

If I did not get all the assistance and support from my Family, I would not be
writing this letter. Furthermore, there are many hundreds of other individuals whom have a similar story, who’s Doctors have misdiagnosed them. Doctor’s do not always
have the answers! They too, are human and can and will make mistakes.

In the case of Terri Schiavo, I believe those Doctors whom say she is in a
vegetative state are wrong! I am an informed American and watch the News just about every night. From what I understand, several other Doctors (approximately 33 doctors) say otherwise. It has been noted that Some of the Doctors on Terri’s case say that she
can be rehabilitated and is conscious. Though she can not really speak, she is aware, feels pain, makes facial expressions and understands what is happening around her. So, Governor Bush, I am asking you, Please, do everything you can to save Terri’s life.
Right now, we just need to connect the tube and then continue investigating
her prognosis.

I find this case very disturbing. Terri is not dying in dignity like some
say, but rather, this is inhumane. Please, help Terri before it’s too
late. Time is of the essence!!

Thank you!

Karen Hughes

Bloggers for Terri!

by

It appears that even the Supreme Court has refused to save Terri’s life! We’re really coming down to the wire on this one, boys and girls! It seems that all judicial and legislative processes have been exhausted. Hundreds, perhaps thousands of us out here in blog space are rooting for Terri. Let’s all continue to make our voices heard loud and clear! Check out these blogs for Terri:

Check out this Fox News article covering the bloggers’ side of the Terri Schiavo case.

CSUN: Lighthearted Banter With Jeff Bishop Immediately Preceding the BrailleNote Versus PAC Mate Presentation

by

Wow! I sure did have a great time at CSUN! Check out some fun, lighthearted banter between myself and Jeff Bishop immediately preceding the BrailleNote versus PAC Mate presentation on Saturday morning at CSUN. Did I just say “Fun”? Fun? What’s that? Why? Yes! I believe I did. Do wonders ever cease to amaze?

Listen to an audio recording of this exchange of commentary about the impending presentation as it happened, right there in the front row of seats in the Atlanta Ballroom at the Los Angeles Marriott on Saturday morning at approximately 10:40!

CSUN: Talking Signs Demonstration

by

Despite all the technical difficulties preventing me from providing you with the anticipated full CSUN conference coverage, I was able to conduct and record a demonstration of Talking Signs.

Talking Signs is an innovative line of products that can enable easier, more effective independent navigation by the blind in locations where they have been installed. The blind person points a simple infrared remote control type receiver in various directions, hears a descriptive voice recording of his or her surroundings and moves toward the desired location as the signal becomes stronger and stronger. Feel free to listen to my informal demonstration of this technology on the ballroom level of the Los Angeles Marriott at the 2005 CSUN conference and browse to the Talking Signs web site for more information directly from the manufacturer.

You may listen to this demonstration, recorded on Saturday morning at CSUN, in streaming MP3 format with Winamp or any other compatible player:

As this demonstration represents my first attempt at providing live coverage of an event as it happens, please provide feedback so I may improve upon my work in the future!

Red Alert: Act Now To Save Terri Schiavo’s Life!

by

On Friday afternoon, March 18, all food and water were withheld from Terri Schiavo. It is now Tuesday, March 22. Terri has had no food or water for almost five days! She is literally being dehydrated and starved to death! Point your web browser to www.helpterri.com and help save Terri Schiavo now! Let’s save Terri’s life and send a clear message that the American people are against euthanasia!

Thus far, we at Blind Access Journal have made a financial donation to the cause, and have contacted our Arizona Congressional representative, Arizona senators and Florida legislators asking them to act immediately to save Terri’s life! We urge you all to do likewise immediately as time is wasting. Terri is dehydrating and starving to death by the second while the government officials and politicians “think it over”! Act now to persuade them to
do the right thing immediately; ask them to reinsert that feeding tube and save Terri right now!

I sent the following letter to our Arizona legislators in the United States Senate and House of Representatives. Please, everyone, contact the politicians right now. Ask them to save Terri immediately!

March 22, 2005

Dear Senator McCain, Senator Kyl, and Representative Hayworth,

I am writing to ask you to do everything within your powers to save Terri
Schiavo’s life. I was born prematurely in August of 1973. The long list
of my disabilities included blindness, deafness, a heart murmer and a bone
deficiency. Doctors told my parents that I would never live a successful
life, that I wouldn’t even learn to sit up until age 5 or 6 and that they
should just give me up to an institution. Obviously, my parents did not
heed that poor advice. That’s why I am able to write you today. Though
I’m still blind, all my other disabilities have disappeared. Most
important, my hearing problems were successfully corrected at age 5! I am
now a successful information technology professional, accessibility
advocate and publisher of the Blind Access Journal found at
http://www.blindaccessjournal.com.
Who knows where I would be if my mom
had listened to the pesimists? I can say one thing for sure, it wouldn’t
be anything good.

Terri Schiavo is, indeed, severely disabled. She is minimally conscious.
Nevertheless, her parents and numerous doctors tell us that she does
respond to stimulation and that she even tries to talk from time to time.
Terri’s family wants to take over the care of their daughter from a
husband who has long since decided to move on with his life. Despite his
words, his deeds speak much louder. In addition to Terri, he has a common
law wife with two children! Please, don’t give Terri’s husband any
credibility in this matter. Terri didn’t tell us in writing what she
wanted to do in a circumstance such as that which she has faced for more
than 15 years. He clearly doesn’t care about Terri’s best interests.
Please don’t listen to him any longer.

The slow, painful government-sanctioned murder of Terri Schiavo will set
an extremely dangerous, public precedent for the treatment of people with
disabilities! We must not only save Terri’s life for her own sake, but
also set a precedent for doing the right thing, always voting in favor of
life rather than euthanasia! Please, please, I ask you to do everything
you can for Terri right now! Terri remains without food and water. She’s
suffering and dying right now! There’s no more time to “think about it”!
Please act now and encourage your Florida state legislative colleagues and
Governor Bush to do the right thing by saving Terri’s life and sending a
clear message against euthanasia!

I have just heard that the Senate and the House have agreed on language
for a bill to save Terri Schiavo’s life.
PLEASE, show bi-partisan support for this legislation, and vote to SAVE
Terri Schiavo from starvation. Thank you!

Sincerely,

Darrell Shandrow

A Tribute to Jonathan Mosen and The Wave

by

I first learned about Jonathan Mosen in late 1996. At that time, he operated a web site called The Arena. Not only did this site contain lots of wonderful blind community resources, but there was also a neat section called “Voices from the Keyboard” where you could hear the voices of those who participated in the Internet portion of the blind community. I met Jonathan briefly while attending my last NFB convention in New Orleans in 1997. Jonathan went on to form an innovative Internet radio station called MBSFM, where he broadcasted the first significant, live blind community radio talk show called Blind Line. Sometime in 2000, Jonathan began his directorship of ACB Radio, continuing Blind Line and featuring such enlightening new programming as the Main Menu technology demonstration and information radio show. As he moved on to his current employment with HumanWare, he began The Wave, the fun, innovative and witty radio station to which we must now say “goodbye” and “so long” for the present time.

I woke up this morning to the sad news that, due to various technical problems including lack of available Internet bandwidth, The Wave is closing. The loss of The Wave is already being felt by us here at Blind Access Journal. I and many others are going to especially miss The fun, humorous and always interesting Mosen Explosion music, request and talk show, which Jonathan hosted on Friday afternoons here in the United States, noontime on Saturdays in New Zealand.

Jonathan, despite our disagreements over such important issues as the Bookshare accessibility model and the war in Iraq, you have been one of my favorite people since I learned of you in 1996! I have looked up to you as a model of success and as a real, sincere person. You inspire blind people all over the world! Please do come back to Internet broadcasting very soon; we miss you already! I can actually feel tears welling up in my eyes. Please come back soon, Jonathan; we need you!

Ask Skype to Become More Accessible!

by

Skype is a revolutionary new way to communicate on the Internet using your voice. Voice contact between Internet users is free of charge, while it is possible to place calls to regular telephones at extremely competitive discount rates. Skype is able to effectively work around most firewalls and other challenging network configurations that stop other voice over Internet solutions dead in their tracks.

Naturally, Skype is an excellent candidate for adoption as the voice communication solution of choice for the blind community. Sadly, despite numerous attempts to communicate with Skype concerning accessibility, each new release of the Skype software seems to be moving in the wrong direction, away from accessibility! Increasing awareness of accessibility is always the first step to positive change, and Skype is certainly no exception. Blind Access Journal is sending the following letter to Skype requesting that attention be paid to the accessibility of its software to all current and potential users, including those of us whom happen to be blind.

March 13, 2005

Dear Skype Management Team:

The Skype voice over Internet software represents a revolution in voice communications technology on the Internet. Its ability to provide high quality audio while working around firewalls and other challenging network configurations has the potential to reduce complexity and increase the usability of voice over Internet technologies for everyone, including Internet users whom happen to be blind or visually impaired. I am a blind information technology professional, accessibility advocate and publisher of the Blind Access Journal found at http://www.blindaccessjournal.com. The purpose of this letter is to request that Skype show leadership by integrating accessibility into the design of its software so that all may participate in the voice over Internet revolution.

Creating and maintaining reasonable accessibility need not be difficult nor costly, especially for the talented programmers employed by your company. I would like to make the following recommendations to improve the accessibility of Skype:

  • Enable tab and shift+tab navigation among all program controls, fields and other elements.

  • Enable arrow key navigation and Windows keyboard support in all fields such as edit boxes, combo boxes and lists.

  • Enable the option of using a Windows standard focus or highlight bar to indicate selection in the contact list and other places in the program as appropriate.

  • Use standard Window classes for all controls or implement Microsoft Active Accessibility to provide this information to assistive technology.

  • Include text labels for all graphics in the program.

There are tens of thousands of current and potential Skype users in the blind community. Your software is a natural fit for blind people, who are always looking for affordable international voice communication technology. We are concerned that, with each new version of Skype, the program is actually becoming less and less accessible. There is a small group of blind programmers who are feverishly working to maintain a set of script files for the popular JAWS for Windows screen reading application. As each new Skype release changes the user interface, these scripts break, must be revised and distributed to all affected users. While Skype is less complex than other solutions for sighted users, this need to constantly update a set of scripts that can’t even provide access to all Skype features increases the complexity of Skype for blind users to a level that is simply unattainable by most. As we have observed the design of each new Skype release become less and less accessible, we are concerned that a point will soon be reached where the maintenance of the scripts will become impossible and we will be permanently locked out of the Skype revolution. It is also critical to serve the thousands of blind people not using the JAWS screen reader, for whom the scripts are unable to help.

I ask you to show your leadership on the Internet. Please work cooperatively and proactively with us to insure the ability of everyone to use the Skype software and all associated free and fee based services. I look forward to a response from someone on your management team in the very near future. Thank you in advance for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

Darrell Shandrow

Blind Access Journal

I am now asking you to write and send a similar letter to Skype. I am hopeful that our requests for greater accessibility will receive attention if we all make our voices heard. Follow Skype’s report a problem with Skype link and contact Customer Service to submit your letter. It is highly encouraged that you submit at least a problem report, even if you have only used Skype’s free services. We are strongly urging you to submit both a problem report and customer service feedback if you have ever placed a call using the Skype Out service. This is an opportunity for us all to participate in an effort to gain greater accessibility to information technology. I expect everyone to rise to the occasion and squeak this wheel as loud as possible!