Blind Access Journal

I just read an article entitled Being Blind For A Day! posted today on PRNewswire regarding an event called “Kindness Beats Blindness”. I found it quite disturbing and upsetting as I learned that 496 more children are going to be taught the wrong things about blindness!

On Thursday, January 27, 496 middle school children will simulate blindness in a way that exemplifies thousands of years of misconceptions all in a single day. Half the children will wear blindfolds while the other half will act as “seeing eye kids” presumably to guide the “blind” children. The story emphasizes all the negative misconceptions about blindness as though they are truths. One of the children interviewed for this article tells us that he gets a “beautiful, indescribable feeling” from helping the needy. Sadly, unless he is made aware of the truth, this child may become a barrier to our progress in his adulthood.

Campaigns such as this should be conducted in a way that improves society’s attitudes about blindness and breaks down the negative misconceptions. If I were advising the planners of “Kindness Beats Blindness”, I would give them the following advice:

• Cut out the “seeing eye kids”! They feed in to the misconception that the blind are completely helpless and dependent upon the sighted.
• Invite confident, competent blind people from the community to work with the children, demonstrating how the alternative techniques of blindness (assistive technology, Braille, orientation and mobility skills) enable them to participate in society. Provide hands on examples of daily living skills such as cooking and preparing simple meals. Have the children walk around the school grounds with blind buddies using the long white cane. Show the children how assistive technologies such as Braille displays and screen readers enable blind people to communicate. Play a descriptive video.
• Engage the children in their normal school activities while blind mentors show them how to successfully complete them as a blind person.

By focusing almost exclusively on the negative characteristics of blindness, The planners of this event have missed the opportunity to make life better for blind people everywhere. The stated goal of this campaign is to raise money for the Foundation Fighting Blindness, an organization working to implement prevention, treatment and cure of eye diseases. Some may feel that the only way to successfully raise funds for these medical organizations is to emphasize the negative, pitiful aspects of blindness. These negative campaigns are carried out solely at our expense. We are not inherently helpless or “needy” based on our physical lack of eye sight. Our 75 percent unemployment rate and overall poor socioeconomic status have nothing to do with blindness. They do have everything to do with the artificially imposed consequences of inaccessibility, lack of transportation options and negative social attitudes regarding our blindness.

It is important to note that Sovereign Bank, the primary sponsor of “Kindness Beats Blindness”, provides reasonable accomodations to its blind customers through such features as an accessible web site, automated telephone banking and talking ATM’s. We applaud all businesses that do the right thing by providing equal accessibility of their products and services to the blind.

This is yet another call to participation. What can we do to insure that blindness related fund raising campaigns avoid damaging the blind community? How can we convince event planners to emphasize the positive rather than the negative?

I am seriously considering the possibility of my attending CSUN’s Technology and Persons with Disabilities conference. I feel this would be an excellent way for me to experience hands on demonstrations of the latest and greatest assistive technology as well as to personally meet the players in the field. As one who intends to work toward mobilization of the blind community toward greater participation through accessibility, I believe it is absolutely vital that I become as informed and well connected as possible. Networking is essential in the assistive technology industry as it is everywhere else.

Since I live in Arizona, the location of this event in Los Angeles is rather convenient. Due to work obligations, I am only going to be able to reasonably request sufficient time off to attend from March 16 to 19. This would permit my participation in the conference, mandating that I skip the preconference workshops being offered on the 14th and 15th. It appears the registration fee is $400 and the hotel room will cost approximately $120 per night. I have applied for a first timer scholarship from CSUN’s scholarship committee to cover all or part of the registration cost. That still leaves the hotel room expenses. Since Karen will not be able to accompany me on this trip, I can’t justify spending a large amount of money to have a room all to myself. I am thus asking that anyone who is planning to attend this conference and who is in need of a roommate to split the lodging costs to send e-mail to me at editor@blindaccessjournal.com so we can come to an agreement.

Before I make any binding arrangements to attend CSUN, I’d very much appreciate those who have attended this conference in the past to post comments about their experience. What is your take regarding the quality of the sessions and exhibits? Do all or most of the blindness technology players attend? What was your experience with the accomodations provided by the Hilton or Marriott airport hotels? Overall, did you find attending this conference to be worthwhile? Will you be attending this year? Please do share your thoughts soon. You, the readers of this journal, get to provide your input on my decision making process.

Last week I heard a television commercial for Lab Express. This company provides discount lab services, such as blood testing, for people who do not have health insurance coverage. The announcer enthusiastically exclaimed “no appointment necessary” as if it were a benefit of using this service. Unfortunately, in many cases, “no appointment necessary” means you are not able to make any prior arrangements to receive service on a specific date or time. This is clearly not a benefit to the blind or anyone else who does not have independent control over their transportation. Fixed route public transportation runs on a schedule. Some city buses run only once per hour. Door to door shared ride services like Dial-A-Ride require prearrangement of both the departure and return trips. These trip times are usually not flexible and can’t be adjusted on the day of the trip.

Even in cases where appointments are not typically made nor reservations taken, we have often been able to make special arrangements with the company’s staff to meet our needs. In the case of laboratory work, we call the lab’s telephone number several days before we wish to set an appointment. We speak with a manager, who agrees to watch out for us at a prearranged time and to serve us as close to that time as possible, making sure we have received service by the time the driver is scheduled to pick us up for our return trip. If there is a line, we are taken to the front so that we can receive service at the agreed upon time.

Some in the blind community are firmly against our insistance on setting appointments and reservations when the opportunity is not granted to our sighted peers. They tell us that we are using our blindness to gain an advantage not enjoyed by others. This couldn’t be further from the truth. The reasons for our insistance on making prior arrangements have everything to do with minimizing the added negative consequences our blindness can cause us to suffer. After walking in and waiting in line to receive service, the typical sighted person will be able to drive away in their own automobile to carry on with the rest of their day. This won’t be the case for those of us who are unable to drive. If waiting an extended, unpredictable amount of time causes us to miss a bus or a return Dial-A-Ride trip, the consequences can be severe. At a minimum, the person who rides the city bus may have to wait an extra thirty minutes or hour to catch the next bus. An extreme consequence for a Dial-A-Ride subscriber missing their return trip might easily be the need to ride a cab ten to twenty miles, costing $30 or more!

If you are blind or are otherwise unable to drive an automobile, don’t be afraid to insist on the ability to make an appointment at a medical facility, a reservation at a restaurant that normally doesn’t require reservations, or to ask for other similar reasonable accomodations that will reduce the negative consequences of your not having access to independent, reliable transportation at a moment’s notice. You probably won’t achieve the desired results by speaking with the first person you reach on the telephone. Ask for a manager or supervisor. If that person is unwilling to reasonably accomodate your needs, continue up the chain of command. If you speak with a person who is empathetic with your situation, great, you’re all set. Make reasonable compromises. For example, we always have our blood work done at the lab when it first opens at 7:00 in the morning. If you have difficulty finding someone in the company who cares and understands your needs, continue escalating and speaking with more employees. Make several calls per day if necessary. The squeaky wheel usually gets oiled. If nothing else, you’ll take advantage of the fact that people are usually very busy at work. They’ll often accomodate you for the purpose of getting your issue off their plate so that they can attend to other important matters.

Please share your experiences with the need to schedule your life around available transportation options in a world that takes driving for granted.

Good evening. This is an experimental posting using the AudioBlogger service. Please don’t forget to click the additional link associated with this post. You will hear an audio message from me explaining this experiment. Please share your thoughts concerning the possible applications of this new capability here on Blind Access Journal.

Karen, one of our esteemed correspondents, contributes the following urgent call to participation and positive action. You are strongly urged to follow her excellent example!

As blind people we need to be involved & informed of what is

happening around us. Since we lack eyesight to perform tasks

visually, we need to compensate by utilizing our other senses to make

sense of our surroundings.

We need to keep up to speed with what is happening around the world

as well as at home in our neighborhoods and communities.

Most information is not in an accessible format that we as blind people can read. It is in print and, thus, isn’t available to us. We need to devise reasonable methods of receiving that information. There are a number of ways that we can gain access to this

information: audio recording, Braille, and accessible electronic format.

In addition to these methods one can utilize Newsline, TV, radio as

well as access information on their computer.

The net is a wonderful vehicle to locate information on just about

everything. As blind people we need to find the tools & be more

resourceful. It’s very helpful to become computer literate & have

access to such services as the Internet, bookshare and the talking

book library.

This will enable us to be more informed and more on a par with our

sighted counterparts.

The Internet is an extremely valuable

outlet to gain access to printed information. As many of you know,

google is an excellent search engine. On hundreds of occasions, I have used this tool to do research. as Darrell has documented in the pages of Blind Access Journal and elsewhere, it is critically important for us to have access to information and technology. The significance of this need will be more and more apparent for us now and in the future. It is vital for all blind people to be informed, get training in computers, attend classes, and demonstrate our skills and abilities on the job. We must demonstrate initiative in finding a job and participating in our communities.

It is important to speak out & let our voices be heard in such forums as blogs.

Darrell has written several articles on issues that continue to

affect us individually but also as a minority group in this society.

We have noticed that no one has posted any comments or otherwise submitted any material on any of these subjects. I am sure someone has something to say, a point to add,

or a comment of his/her experience on any one of these topics!.

Please, respond! Speak your mind; allow your voice to be heard. If we truly want to “change what it means to be blind”, we need to work together, to unite as one, to shape others attitudes and improve the lives for all blind people. If we sit back & wait for someone else to speak up, then it will be someone else’s actions and words, not yours, that could change society’s attitudes and beliefs about us & ultimately effect our world.

If one does not vocalize their opinion and make their vote known, then he or she does not have the right to complain about the results. We have received correspondence and positive feedback from sighted individuals who have read the articles in Blind Access Journal, but participation has been minimal in the blind community. So, come on! Participate! Get involved! Let’s truly make a difference and “change what it means to be blind”!

It was once said that the best laid plans often do not survive first contact with the enemy. Yesterday was, for myself and my coworkers, an excellent example of this concept in the real world.

On my lunch break, I placed a 6:00 PM timed cab order to leave work. My plans were to pick up some dinner on the way to my Mayor’s Commission on Disability Concerns meeting, where I am a commissioner. As I am an advocate for greater accessibility, increased transportation options and improving social attitudes toward the blind in my community and in society as a whole, participation in this commission is extremely important to me. The commission can be an excellent vehicle for positive change at the local level.

Sadly, things just didn’t work out quite as planned. At approximately 5:40, I began preparing to leave the office. That included determining who would be answering the phones for one of our customers between 6:00 and 9:00 PM. The engineer covering this on Monday was not present. My investigation determined that we had been asleep at the switch on this matter. There was no one available to cover this three hour block of time. Leaving the phones unanswered is never an option. Availability is a critical element of our service for which our customers pay. We apparently assumed the same engineer who handled our phones on Monday would be doing so on Tuesday evening, without double checking the correctness of that assumption. We also did not devise a backup plan in case that engineer was ill or otherwise could not come to work on any particular day.

6:00 PM came and went. The cab driver showed up on time. He was nice enough to wait about 10 minutes while I worked with the project’s team lead to devise a solution to the coverage issue. Determining that I would need to wait for the arrival of the project lead, I let the cab driver go. I was relieved at 6:35 and a cab was, very fortunately, able to pick me up at 6:45. I was five minutes late to the commission meeting; the chairman and my fellow commissioners were waiting for me before getting started! I find it very embarrassing to be late to a meeting of this nature. Things could have been worse. The first cab driver could have compelled me to pay for that ten minutes of waiting. I had to wait two and a half extra hours before eating dinner. I could have arrived to the meeting even later.

Despite blindness and the artificial accessibility barriers that limit my ability to work with many of our customers, there is a reason my employer keeps me around! It has to do with my character. I am accountable, dedicated and professional. I will step up to the plate when others will not. These traits can set us apart in a positive way. Let’s make sure we’re always putting our best feet forward!

I don’t personally shop by television. I prefer to be a bit more deliberate in my purchasing decisions rather than just impulsively picking up the telephone and calling the indicated telephone number to buy some neat gadget or some CD collection from Time Life. There is apparently enough impulse buying from television advertising to make this a profitable venture for many businesses. Sadly, these companies are probably missing out on a sizeable amount of revenue due to the inaccessible format of some of their commercials.

While watching television, I notice that about half of all television commercials for mail order products provide no verbal information concerning how to place an order. The company’s mailing address, telephone number and web site are shown “on your screen” with none of this information being spoken for nonvisual access. A sighted person who happens to be looking at the screen at the time the commercial is played will be able to read this information, while the blind, those with other print reading disabilities, the illiterate and those who happen not to be in a good position to see the screen will miss out on a potential buying opportunity. Vision loss is a common condition for the aging baby boomer generation, who are in a strong position to purchase these products. When a consumer wants to make a purchase and is denied that opportunity, the seller isn’t doing their job. This results in lost income for the seller.

The solution to inaccessible television advertising is remarkably simple. Verbally provide at least the telephone number and web site address for customers to place an order. Speak the telephone number twice or even three times so that your customers have a chance to memorize it or write it down. Taking these simple steps toward greater accessibility will enable advertisers to gain more blind and sighted customers. What can we do to urge advertisers to provide this basic information verbally? As always, all thoughts are welcome. Please post a comment.

In 1984, an older blind school student riding with me on the school bus demonstrated amateur radio. He had a small handheld radio he could use to talk with other people all over Southern Arizona. This same friend was also heavily interested in computer technology. After learning about and seeing for myself all the other things I could do with amateur radio, I was hooked, earned my amateur radio licenses and my life changed forever! I passed my Novice Class amateur radio exam on my birthday (August 11) in 1985, and passed my Extra Class exam in March of 1986! In less than eight months I had made it to the top of the amateur radio licensing structure, passing four written theory exams and demonstrating my abilities to comprehend the Morse Code at twenty words per minute. I was also launching myself in to an ongoing life adventure!

The hard work involved in studying and passing the Morse Code and written theory exams served to build my character and add discipline and organization to my mind. It also cultivated my interests in current events, geography, politics and science. My father spent several hours each day reading the study manual to me, asking me the questions found at the end of each chapter in the book and checking my answers for correctness, reading the supplied explanation when I gave an incorrect answer. Participation in local amateur radio classes, radio clubs and public service events enabled me to interact with others, almost exclusively adults, on a regular basis, thus serving to further develop my social skills.

As I conversed with ham radio operators around the world, I became interested in geography, history and politics. As I contacted someone in a new country, mom and I would research that country’s climate, culture, government, location, religion and more. It caused me to ask more questions and thus acquire more knowledge. I logged all my contacts on cassette and later using a computer program. This cycle of talking (using Morse Code or voice) and logging enhanced my abilities to act efficiently, multitask and organize information. Copying Morse Code by ear served to enhance my listening skills.

Participating in face to face settings such as club meetings, emergency communications drills, Field Days, hamfests and public service events enhanced my social skills by exposing me to a diverse group of people from all walks of life. I learned how to get along with others and how to act courteously and professionally. My involvement with amateur radio at an early age helped to show me that, despite blindness, I can contribute to and fully participate in society.

During my twenty years of participation in amateur radio, I have enjoyed the following adventures:

• Camping out in the mountains with fellow hams to participate in annual Amateur Radio Field Day operations.
• Helping a fellow ham during a contest with the setup of an antenna in rainy and windy conditions.
• Running in to a 3 foot tall yellow pole at the bottom of a pedestrian bridge while talking to a ham friend across town on the radio.
• Hanging out at a friend’s house contacting hundreds of other ham operators around the world in a 48 hour contest.
• Riding along with a bicycle maintenance crew assisting with communications during a bike-a-thon.
• Attending breakfasts, radio club meetings and other events, meeting lots of interesting people in the process.

Amateur radio has been a huge contributor to the success I now enjoy and to that I hope to enjoy in the future. It was part of the foundation of experience and knowledge I gained while growing up. I highly recommend this hobby for all blind people, even those who do not have a technical background and just want to talk on the radio and meet people. Please comment or write a personal message if I can help with additional information about amateur radio and how you can become involved.

Microsoft Outlook Web Access is a web based interface to the features of the popular Outlook component of the Microsoft Office software suite. It provides a secure method for a company’s sighted employees to perform tasks such as exchanging e-mail, managing contacts and scheduling. Sadly, this appears to exclude the blind, as this web application presents huge barriers to those of us who rely on screen reading software to use our computers.

My employer would like to tap me to provide some backup coverage for one of our customers. I am only able to act in a backup role since the customer’s Siebel implementation is already known to be inaccessible. The customer uses Outlook Web Access to provide secure front end access to their Microsoft Exchange server without exposing their internal network to undue outside risk. Gaining access to the company’s Exchange server to enable me to use the full Microsoft Outlook client software is out of the question, as the customer is not going to provide us with access to a VPN tunnel in to their internal network. Since we are on an outsourcing basis, we are in absolutely no position to pressure our customer to cooperate.

I have checked out a number of Outlook Web Access implementations, finding them all to be similarly inaccessible. Though the web pages appear to be readable with JAWS, simple tasks such as selecting and reading a message simply do not work. Several blind colleagues verify that Outlook Web Access is currently not accessible to us. We are surprised and disappointed in Microsoft’s oversight in the design of this critical productivity application. I strongly urge everyone to read Microsoft’s “commitment” to accessibility, then send e-mail to Microsoft’s accessibility group and provide online feedback registering your concerns about the need for accessibility to Outlook Web Access and all other Microsoft products and services. Outlook Web Access is considered to be a secure enhancement to the Microsoft Exchange and Microsoft Office products. It is being widely implemented in businesses and government agencies. Access to applications of this nature is absolutely critical to our current and future employability. We also believe it is mandated by the United States government under Section 508 of the Federal Rehabilitation Act, which requires that the government purchase information technology products and services that are accessible over those that are not.

If you have devised a solution to gain access to Microsoft Outlook Web Access, please post a comment right away. Your answers will be critical to those of us who are struggling with this application. Please keep in mind that there is no way to gain access to the actual Exchange server, so suggesting use of the full Microsoft Outlook application is not a workable solution.

I think many of us make the mistake of leaning too heavily on vocational rehabilitation agencies while failing to take our own initiative. I am enjoying a degree of employment success. My career in the technology industry is now ten years long. At no time did a vocational rehabilitation agency place me in a job.

I am not saying that you should not use the services provided by VR agencies. Get the assistive technology you will need to perform the duties of a job. At a bare minimum, this would probably be a screen reader such as JAWS. Try to get this assistive technology and associated training before you start seeking employment. Assistive technology is obviously essential in order for us to be employed. If you need something that VR won’t provide, go ahead and escalate the matter within VR but also try to find other sources of funding. You should also use the services of VR agencies to obtain training in blindness skills and the skills required to obtain and retain employment. You’ll need to be able to write exceptional cover letters and resumes. You’ll also need to learn and practice the skills required to conduct a successful interview. Of course, you must also be otherwise qualified to perform the duties of the jobs you seek. This might mean you need to attend college or a technical school.

Once you are all set with your blindness skills, education, job skills and some basic technology to make your world accessible, get to it! Don’t wait for your VR counselor. Write your resume. Ask family and friends to proofread it for you. If you have professional colleagues whom you trust, ask them to proofread your resume. Once you are satisfied with your master resume, get started in the job search. Network, network, network! Let your friends, family and other associates know that you are looking for a job and always emphasize your abilities and the reasons why you’re the best candidate for any opportunity! Utilize online job search resources such as CareerBuilder.com. Respond to any openings that meet your qualifications. Write those convincing cover letters and get those resumes out the door. When you start getting interview offers, do NOT mention your blindness on the telephone! Dress professionally and Get yourself to those interviews. Until you have obtained paid employment, volunteer, volunteer, and volunteer some more! Community service activities are a recognizable way of showing that you’re active and are not just sitting at home waiting for that phone to ring. Keep going with this cycle until you have achieved success!

There are, indeed, serious issues that impact us when we attempt to obtain or retain our employment. They involve accessibility, transportation and negative social attitudes about blindness. But, there are also people who see our value and will give us that opportunity. I have talked with lots of blind people over the years about employment. My findings? Most blind people don’t have a job because they don’t take most of the necessary steps to achieve success. They are sitting at home on Social Security and other public assistance waiting for their VR counselor to do something! When you take the initiative and act for yourself, you show the world that you have what it takes to effectively perform the duties of that job you seek!