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Fall 2018
OHIO CONNECTION
American Council of the Blind of Ohio
UPDATES FROM THE ACBO OFFICE
By Vicky Prahin
B elow you will find a summary of
some of what I do in ACB-Ohio’s
office, besides answering the phone
quired all of them to do by September
1. Call your county BOE to find out
more about which system they selected
and keeping up with e-mail. and how you can access it if you plan
to vote using an absentee ballot in No-
This year, Buckeye Health Plan gave vember.
us an opportunity to have a table at the
Ohio State Fair. In exchange for the Some of you may know that ACB-Ohio
space, they required us to post pictures now has seven chapters. If you want to
on Facebook throughout the day, tweet join one, be involved in activities of an-
about our involvement, and mention other chapter, or have thought about
the day in our newsletter. Our adminis- starting one in your area, here are loca-
trative assistant, Michelle Spillan, and tions and contacts for those that are
board members Karen Spry and Irwin currently active:
Hott, as well as Irwin’s sister Miki,
helped staff the table. We passed out
copies of the Ohio Connection, bro-
chures, copies of the Ohio White Cane
law, and some of our braille keychains.
Speaking of those keychains, they
have ACBO in braille, as well as in
print, and are very well made. If you
want one or more, they cost $5 each.
Just send a check to the office with
your order. We will also have them at
the convention during the first weekend
in November.
I contacted the Board of Elections of all
Ohio counties to encourage the selec- Vicky Prahin, Miki, and Irwin Hott
tion of an accessible absentee voting staffing the ACBO table at the Ohio
system, which Governor Kasich re- State FairEye On Summit (Akron area) MY SCHOLARSHIP
President: Sam Moats By Jenna McCartney
E-mail: smoats@neo.rr.com
Phone: 330-864-6369 At last year’s conven-
tion I received the
Stark County Chapter (Canton area) Linwood Walker
President: Carolyn Burley scholarship for gradu-
E-mail: carolynmu@sbcglobal.net ate students. I had
Phone: 330-484-3807 just begun my mas-
ter’s degree for vision
Cleveland Chapter rehabilitation therapy
President: Dave Padgett (VRT) at Western
E-mail: padgett.david.lisa@sbcglobal.net Michigan University.
Phone: 216-417-4624 After obtaining my un-
dergraduate degree
Greater Cincinnati Chapter in teaching special
President: Terry Olandese education and then
E-mail: olandese@fuse.net getting a job teaching
Phone: 513-851-6445 reading to adults with
developmental disa-
Columbus Chapter bilities, I found that I
President: Katie Frederick really enjoyed work-
E-mail: katiefred@gmail.net ing with adults. I decided to become a
Phone: 614-470-2226 VRT and combine teaching adults with
things that, being blind since birth, I was
Appleseed Chapter (Mansfield area) very familiar with doing. I will not only be
President: Mary Castor able to teach them tasks such as daily liv-
E-mail: macastor@neo.rr.com ing skills and technology, but how to ad-
Phone: 419-571-3553 vocate for themselves to get what they
need to succeed from personal experi-
Friends N Focus (Medina area) ence doing the same.
President: Don Kalman
Phone: 330-635-7027 I am currently working full time as a cus-
tomer service representative at the
At this time of year, a few extra activities Cleveland Sight Center while going to
keep us hopping. In addition to the fall school part time, so while I am taking
Connection, we are gearing up for the longer to complete the program, I am
convention, making arrangements to pre- gaining experience to share with clients. I
sent awards and scholarships, and start- have had a variety of jobs, including di-
ing to have exhibits at various city, coun- rect sales and office management, as
ty, and state events to make employees well as the above-mentioned jobs, so I
aware of ACBO and encourage dona- am excited to bring those experiences in-
tions. to working with my clients and helping
them in the work force. I am honored to
No two days are alike in the ACBO office! have been chosen as the 2017 Linwood
Walker scholarship recipient.
2ADVOCACY & LEGISLATIVE ROUNDUP
By Katie Frederick
Summer recesses occur at the state every state; directs the organization to
and national levels of government; strongly encourage election officials in
however, advocacy and legislative ac- every state to comply with all state and
tivities do not cease. Over the past few federal laws which require equal access
months, ACB advocates participated in to ballots and voting by directing all
adopting resolutions at the annual con- counties to deploy an accessible vote-
ference and convention, attended an by-mail (AVBM) solution within six
Ohio political candidates’ forum, and months of such a system being ap-
celebrated the installation of GPS bea- proved by that state; and that ACB en-
cons that ease navigation on the Co- courage each state’s Division of Elec-
lumbus State Community College cam- tions or equivalent to assist local juris-
pus. dictions to acquire a single, centralized,
uniform AVBM system that state offi-
ACB Resolutions cials would help to develop.
The following is a summary of the reso-
lutions adopted during the 2018 Ameri- Resolution 2018-03 directs ACB to
can Council of the Blind Conference take all steps necessary to obtain the
and Convention in St. Louis. You can recognition that electronic polling books
read the entire text of each resolution or voter verification systems should be
by visiting https://www.acb.org/ accessible to persons who are blind or
resolutions2018. Please note that these have low vision and for the adoption of
summary statements are not the au- a requirement that every jurisdiction
thoritative voice of the ACB member- must implement an accessible voter
ship; they are simply intended to cap- verification system.
ture the overall scope and intent of the
membership as embodied in the full Resolution 2018-04 tells ACB to en-
text of each resolution. courage both newly prepared and expe-
rienced teachers of the visually im-
Resolution 2018-01 directs ACB to paired to pursue continuing education
strongly urge all developers of antivirus and/or professional development oppor-
and anti-malware programs to ensure tunities and training to keep abreast of
that their software is designed to be ful- the ever-changing body of knowledge
ly accessible to and usable by people and practices concerning neurological
who are blind or visually impaired in ac- visual impairment in order to effectively
cordance with appropriate technical ac- meet the unique needs of children with
cessibility standards. CVI. It instructs ACB to urge the U.S.
Congress, state legislatures, and state
Resolution 2018-02 instructs mem- and local educational agencies to pro-
bers of ACB’s state affiliates to request tect the integrity of assessments con-
their state to immediately take all nec- ducted by TVIs, both by rejecting calls
essary steps to ensure equal access to that expressly or implicitly require the
absentee and vote by mail balloting in use of any single specific assessment
3tool or technique with specific popula- ensure that on-screen information is com-
tions of students with visual impair- municated effectively to viewers with vi-
ments and by refusing to impose spe- sion loss.
cifically branded in-service training re-
quirements on state-licensed TVIs who Resolution 2018-09 expresses the be-
are prepared in accordance with na- lief that Publix must do significantly more
tionally recognized TVI standards (i.e., to create a standard of service in stores
the Council for Exceptional Children that is consistently appropriate, expresses
and Association for Education and Re- ACB’s deep disappointment with the dis-
habilitation of the Blind and Visually Im- regard to online accessibility demonstrat-
paired) as a precondition for such TVIs’ ed by Publix both on its website and
provision of special education to chil- through apps, directs ACB to urge Publix
dren with CVI or any other students to develop and implement policies and
with visual impairments. It also renews procedures that will result in the deploy-
ACB’s call to Congress to promptly en- ment of accessible prescription labels al-
act the Cogswell Macy Act, which lowing Publix to effectively monitor the ef-
would significantly increase investment fectiveness of this service, and instructs
in quantitative and qualitative research, ACB to continue to work with Publix but
allowing our field to identify evidence- expect a significant and substantial im-
based practices in assessment and in- provement in their attitude and approach
struction for children with CVI and all to online, in-store, and prescription label
other students who are blind, have low access.
vision, are deaf-blind, or who may have
additional disabilities. Resolution 2018-10 instructs the ACB
national office to expand and further its
Resolution 2018-05 directs ACB to relationships with U.S. air carriers, calling
review the 2018-2019 Common Col- upon airlines to: ensure that development
lege Application for accessibility after of any policies is done in consultation with
its next release on August 1, 2018, ACB, its affiliate Guide Dog Users, Inc.,
and, if the application remains inacces- and other service animal advocates to as-
sible after August 1, ACB shall use all sure that the long-standing commitment to
appropriate resources and influence to full and equal inclusion of passengers with
pursue full accessibility of the Common guide dogs is not compromised; and that
College Application for the release the airlines commit to implement ongoing
scheduled for August 1, 2019. training with airline personnel in order to
assure that the letter of the law protecting
Resolution 2018-06 congratulates the rights of passengers with service ani-
the Lighthouse for the Blind, Inc., Seat- mals not be impeded. It also directs ACB
tle, Wash., on providing 100 years of to work with the U.S. Department of
successful and innovative job opportu- Transportation as it undertakes regulatory
nities for people who are blind, visually proceedings to ensure that that the rights
impaired, deaf-blind, and who may of passengers with legitimate, well-trained
have additional disabilities. service animals not be negatively impact-
ed by any changes to the service animal
Resolution 2018-08 directs ACB to definition and subsequent relevant poli-
advocate for the full accessability of cies.
commercial and other advertising to
4Resolution 2018-11 directs ACB to League, strongly urge NLS to consider
immediately call upon President Donald producing electronic braille books in
J. Trump to promptly deposit the Sen- greater numbers than those produced in
ate-approved Marrakesh Treaty with the hard copy, and commends NLS for be-
World Intellectual Property Organiza- ginning to work on creating different ele-
tion, and to urge the leadership and ments of braille output using document
members of the U.S. House of Repre- flow. We also urge that NLS consider
sentatives to take up and pass S. 2559, developing a format for electronic braille
the Marrakesh Treaty Implementation not tied to the specifications that would
Act, so that the legislation can be trans- apply to the production of hard-copy
mitted as soon as possible to the White braille books.
House for the President’s signature.
Resolution 2018-17 directs ACB and
Resolution 2018-12 congratulates Library Users of America to ask the In-
RSVA on its 50th birthday and reaffirms formation Access Committee to join Li-
ACB’s commitment to support the right brary Users of America in reaching out
of blind vendors to receive priority to bid to standard-setting bodies of the Ameri-
on military dining facilities. can Library Association and other enti-
ties deemed appropriate to advocate
Resolution 2018-13 directs ACB to that these standards include accessibil-
encourage its state chapters to consid- ity components. Elements to be incorpo-
er advocating for the establishment of a rated into standards should include ac-
state legislative task force on paratrans- cessibility of web sites, accessibility of
it services, which would include the fol- electronic books available for loan, ac-
lowing representation: legislators or cessibility of computers that are availa-
their designees, local and regional enti- ble for patron use, specific outreach
ties that fund paratransit services, large components for people who are blind or
and small fixed-route providers, and have low vision, and periodic evaluation
members and representatives of disa- of accessibility compliance. It orders the
bility and senior advocacy organizations Information Access Committee and Li-
who are active paratransit users them- brary Users of America to report to the
selves; and directs the task force to 2019 ACB convention on what progress
identify and disseminate best practices has been made to implement this reso-
on paratransit issues, including those lution.
set forth in this resolution.
Resolution 2018-18 instructs ACB to
Resolution 2018-15 directs ACB to strongly urge the Federal Communica-
work with the FCC to require all broad- tions Commission to exercise all appro-
cast and non-broadcast networks priate authority to require the broadcast
providing video description to establish and non-broadcast networks to estab-
a clear point of contact to address is- lish and/or join an automated digital list-
sues of quality and standards for video ing of all available audio-described pro-
description. gramming, and directs that the FCC
monitor such listings on an ongoing ba-
Resolution 2018-16 instructs ACB, sis for quality assurance and to ensure
along with its affiliates Library Users of that such listings provide consumers of
America and the Braille Revival audio-described programming with a
5level of service equal to that provided “Universities and community colleges
today to consumers of closed- across this state ought to fund this im-
captioned television. mediately,” (Governor) Kasich said.
“There is a lot of progress that can be
Resolution 2018-19 reiterates ACB’s made, but we’ve got to do this together
ongoing assertion that a White House and make sure this is just the begin-
tour experience that is carefully and ef- ning. With Columbus State here, you’re
fectively described includes more infor- looking at the future of education.”
mation than can possibly be provided
by an in-person guide, and directs ACB BlindSquare works by determining a
to urge the White House to take steps user’s location using smart phone GPS
to reinstate the described tour as soon capabilities and looking up information
as possible. about the surrounding environment,
which at Columbus State is provided by
Resolution 2018-20 directs ACB to a series of beacons around campus
continue its advocacy in support of net and in select buildings. After finding di-
neutrality. rectional information, the app speaks in
a clear, synthetic voice. It can track the
Ohio Candidates’ Forum user’s destination and periodically an-
July 26 marked the 28th anniversary of nounce the distance and direction while
the signing of the Americans with Disa- traveling, as well as mark locations so
bilities Act (ADA). For several ACB they can be found more easily later on.
members and other Ohioans with disa-
bilities, the afternoon provided an op- “Embracing technology that supports
portunity to hear from Ohio candidates assisting those with disability challeng-
seeking election to senate and Ohio es is rapidly becoming the norm,” Miller
governor seats in November. We heard said. “Innovative approaches to remov-
candidates’ positions on topics of inter- ing barriers are necessary in this age of
est to the disability community, includ- technology. OOD’s partnership with Co-
ing public transportation, Medicare, lumbus State is a standard for which
housing, and more. others should follow.”
A Step Forward for Campus “Columbus State is proud to be a lead-
Navigation er in serving people with disabilities
July 30 was a special day for students, among our students, faculty, staff and
faculty, staff, and people who are blind visitors,” Harrison said. “Incorporating
or visually impaired attending Colum- BlindSquare functionality advances our
bus State Community College, as a commitment to inclusion while further-
new program deploying beacons and ing accessibility for anyone who can
the use of the BlindSquare GPS app benefit from location and directional
was announced. support.”
The following is reprinted with permis-
sion by the authors of the August 2018
OOD Focus newsletter:
6ACCESS THE OHIO CONNECTION THROUGH
NFB NEWSLINE
NFB-Newsline, a service which the Na- You can read the ACB Braille Forum by
tional Federation of the Blind provides, selecting the “Magazines” section once
offers access to international and na- logged in. The Ohio Connection is lo-
tional magazines and newspapers, as cated under the Ohio listing, under the
well as blindness-specific publications, ACB-Ohio channel.
to individuals who are unable to read
print material. Eligible Ohioans interest- Call one of the local numbers listed be-
ed in signing up for the service can low to hear NFB-Newsline:
contact the Cleveland Library for the
Blind at 800-362-1262 or complete an Akron: 330-247-1241
online application by visiting https:// Canton: 330-409-1900
tinyurl.com/yaelem4m. Cincinnati: 513-297-1521
Cleveland: 216-453-2090
ACB-Ohio places the Ohio Connection Columbus: 614-448-1673
on NFB-Newsline and over the next
year, as cassettes and the ability to Outside the local access area:
play them becomes more challenging, 888-882-1629
those who want audio of the Connec-
tion will need to use NFB-Newsline. To
access the service, call the appropriate
phone number (see below), download Michelle Spillan, Editor, Newsletter
the free iOS app, read the newspapers Committee: Irwin Hott, Jenna
of your choice via the internet, have McCartney, Jill Noble, Vicky Prahin
your choice of newspapers e-mailed to
you, or access the service with popular As always, thanks to the contribu-
specialized players, such as the Victor tors: Theresa Carroll, Katie Freder-
Reader Trek. ick, Irwin Hott, Berna King, Jenna
McCartney, Terry Olandese, Ann
Pimley, Vicky Prahin, Elizabeth
Sammons, and Karen Spry.
The Ohio Connection is a quarterly
publication of the American Council
of the Blind of Ohio (phone 614-261
-3561). Please e-mail your submis-
sion to acbo.newsletter@gmail.com
or mail your material to ACB-Ohio,
3805 N. High Suite 305, Columbus,
OH 43214. The deadline for the fall
issue is November 15.
7CONNECTING OHIO’S AT-LARGE MEMBERS
By Ann Pimley
The ACBO Membership Committee is Like chapter meetings, these at-large
reaching out to all at-large members in conferences are not just about listening
the state. At-large members are those to speakers; they’re an opportunity for
who do not join a local chapter. Lack of members to add their perspectives on
transportation is one of the main rea- different issues. Sometimes people will
sons. We all know how hard it is to find be listening to a speaker and other
adequate and accessible transporta- times they will be discussing topics that
tion, especially if you live in rural Ameri- interest them. We hope that these
ca. Another reason is the long distance phone conferences will make at-large
between where people live and the members feel that they are more of a
nearest chapter. A medical condition part of ACBO and give them an oppor-
that keeps one housebound or severely tunity to be more involved in the organi-
restricts movement is another reason zation.
for not joining a chapter.
Our next phone conference will be Sun-
The Membership Committee is trying to day, October 7, at 7:30 p.m. We will
connect with all at-large members in discuss the upcoming state convention
the state via the phone conference line. including transportation, finding a room-
On our first phone conference in June, mate, and more. We will also discuss
we discussed if members were interest- some technical topics like accessible
ed in having regular meetings during prescription labels. If you are an at-
the year and what topics callers wanted large member, please join us. Even if
to discuss. you are not an at-large member, you
are welcome to attend—call the ACBO
Our second meeting was in August. We office to get the phone number and ac-
had a few speakers talk about their ex- cess code. Please forward this infor-
periences at the 2018 national conven- mation to anyone you know who cannot
tion. Our president, Jill Noble, shared attend chapter meetings, is interested
some happenings at the state level, in- in joining ACBO, or just wants to listen
cluding the purchase of talking clocks to see what we are all about.
to give away. She also discussed the
upcoming state convention in Indianap-
olis in November. Melody Banks, ACBO ACBO Community Shares
alternate delegate to the national con- Campaign Codes
vention, talked about many of the ses- State of Ohio 19003
sions she attended, as well as some of City of Columbus 60240
resolutions and tours she participated Franklin County 60240
in. Vicky Prahin, our executive director, Ohio State University 60240
added information about the national Columbus State 1061
convention and about what is happen-
ing in the state.
8CHRISTMAS IN TOLEDO—AN ACBO
FUNDRAISER
By Theresa Carroll
Hello, Friends! Tom and I have missed
you all and hope to see you soon. Let
me tell you about a program in Toledo
that ACBO has participated in, albeit
quietly, for the past two years around
Christmas time.
The Toledo Club is a historic, private,
city athletic and social club in the heart
of downtown. The Club has stood for
elegance and fine tradition for over a
century. It is the grandest of buildings
and is magnificently decorated for the
holidays. The Club hosts an annual Pa-
rade of Trees fundraiser for area chari-
ties. To participate, an individual, a
business, or an organization creates
and donates a Christmas tree of their
choosing in size, style and decorative
theme. Those trees fill the public halls
of the Club for the entire month of De-
cember. The trees are created to be
auctioned off for a charity of the do-
nor’s choosing. The charity may
choose to receive 100 percent of the
proceeds from the auction or it can
split the proceeds with the Club’s his-
toric trust. The Trust is set aside to pre-
serve the historic nature of the Toledo The 2016 “Going to the Dogs” tree
Club’s building, which is registered with
the Ohio Foundation and the Maumee
Valley Historic Foundation. Someday, The Club invites the public in for a buf-
The Toledo Club hopes to hold a space fet dinner, in addition to one Sunday
on the National Register of historic brunch. Last year over 400 people
Places. But I digress… came to see the trees and enjoy an ele-
gant evening at The Toledo Club.
Over 750 club members and the public
can bid on the trees through a silent In 2016 the tree that Tom and I created
auction that runs through the month of and donated had a theme of “Going to
December. There are six nights when The Dogs” and was dedicated to guide
9dogs. We filled glass ornaments with a few dollars to help offset our out-of-
photos that we had taken of guide dogs pocket for the trees, that’s great too.
and the tree was covered in dog toys. Each year, the tree costs us about
We even hand crafted a Milk-Bone and $250 to create. We shop for bargains,
wooden bead garland to decorate the but rest assured that your ACBO tree
seven-foot tree with. In 2017, after never looks cheap.
hearing people say they wished there
were smaller trees up for bid, we creat- We would love your ideas. Give us a
ed a four-foot, table top tree that had call at 419-606-7065 or email us at
the theme of “Christmas Past” and was tessntom@gmail.com. We hope to see
covered in miniature packages, minia- you soon. Come to Toledo and we can
ture glass ornaments of various styles all reserve a table for dinner at The
of Father Christmas, and glass snow- Club for the 2018 Parade of Trees. I
men and glass mitten ornaments. The would love to give you all a personal
tree came with the stand (a walnut pil- tour.
lar/plant stand) and a handmade quilt-
ed tree skirt. Both trees received high
bids and the 2017 tree was purchased
outright by a gentleman who saw it and
bought it immediately in memory of his
mother, who had become blind due to
diabetes and had just passed away pri-
or to Thanksgiving. He and I had a
good cry when I saw him in the lobby
filling out his bid card one evening and
he relayed his story to me about his
loving mother and how much she en-
joyed Christmas.
The tree for 2018 is yet undecided. We
will certainly be creating one, and it will
be placed at the entryway into the
Club, as it has for the past two years. It
is one of the first trees you see as you
enter the building. We need ideas for a
theme and decorations for the 2018
tree. Keep in mind that a few area inte-
rior decorators and florists are hired
each year to create trees for business-
es to place in the Parade. While those
trees are certainly very beautiful, we
are very proud that the ACBO trees
have always gone for higher bids than
the “professional trees.” But, this year,
we are a bit stymied for ideas. Of
The 2017
course, if you would rather just donate
“Christmas Past” tree
10HOW YOU CAN HELP ACB-OHIO
The American Council of the Blind of- 8666), and working with other blind-
fers a way for members to support the ness organizations around the world.
organization as a whole and benefit ACBO offers scholarships each aca-
ACBO at the same time—it’s called the demic year, gives awards to Ohioans
Monthly Monetary Support (MMS) pro- and Ohio organizations who help make
gram. You can subscribe by visiting the lives of blind and visually impaired
ACB’s website, acb.org; tab to the Do- people better, provides an information
nate Now button and then tab to the and referral service for those seeking
Monthly Monetary Support Program help with vision loss, produces this
button. Or you can call or email Nancy newsletter, and represents the mem-
Becker at the Minnesota office, 612- bership at events and activities around
332-3242, nbecker@acb.org. You the state to spread the word about ser-
specify an amount to donate monthly vices and programs.
and half of that comes to ACB-Ohio to
support our own programs. Your contribution is tax deductible.
Whatever amount you designate ($10
ACB provides services and support to minimum) will be taken out of your
all blind people and those who are checking account or charged to your
blind with other disabilities, those who credit card each month. If you need to
are friends or relatives of blind people, change your donation for any reason,
employers, and those who are losing you can do so, no questions asked.
their sight. Staff and board members You don’t need to be an ACB member
work with Congress, the FCC, the De- to join the MMS program. Friends and
partment of the Treasury, and other relatives of ACB members who would
government agencies and organiza- like to support ACB can also sign up.
tions to make life better for all. The
staff is also responsible for publishing Help support the greatest organization
the ACB Braille Forum, recording “The of the blind in the United States!
Washington Connection” (ACB’s legis-
lative and information hotline, 800-424-
11THE 2019 SLATE OF OFFICERS & BOARD
MEMBERS
By Terry Olandese
I present the proposed slate of officers member and officer of ACBO for several
and board members for 2019. I encour- years.
age you to become familiar with the
candidates and ask questions. The Treasurer: Chris Schumacher
names, along with a little information Chris is completing his second term in
for each, are below. Don’t forget that if office. He has done so well in the posi-
you want to run for a position or you tion that the committee recommends
know someone who does, we will take that members approve an additional
nominations from the floor at the state term.
convention.
ACBO DIRECTORS
Please note that our constitution and
bylaws clarify elections as follows: Irwin Hott
Irwin has served on the board as an of-
ficer and a director for several years.
Officers are elected to two-year This will be his third term if reelected.
terms and are limited to two consec-
utive terms. Jenna McCartney
Jenna became involved when she won
Directors are elected to two-year a scholarship and has continued to
work for ACBO. If elected, this will be
terms and a limit of three consecu- her third term.
tive terms. The term limitation for an
officer or director may be waived
Leah Noble
with a special vote, held before the
Leah has served on the board for two
election during the annual meeting. terms. She is a long-time member of the
Greater Cincinnati chapter.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATIONS
Robert Rogers
President: Jill Noble
Rob has served as an officer and a di-
Jill is from the Cleveland area and cur-
rector for many years. He is a real asset
rently acts as treasurer for the Cleve- as a Parliamentarian.
land chapter. She is completing the
term Vicky Prahin left when she as-
Shawn Thiel
sumed the position of executive direc-
Shawn is an active member of the Co-
tor. lumbus chapter. He was a presenter at
the 2017 convention and brings a
Second Vice-president: Lori Woodall wealth of knowledge and skills, espe-
Lori is a member of the Greater Cincin-
cially in technology.
nati Chapter and has been a board
12“RACE TO SUCCESS”
The 2018 ACBI-ACBO convention will exhibitors in the exhibit area, including
take place during the first weekend in Eye Can See, Bosma Enterprises,
November—Friday, November 2 to Easter Seals Crossroads, IU School of
Sunday, November 4—at the Water- Optometry, and the American Printing
front Hotel & Conference Center, 2930 House for the Blind.
Waterfront Parkway W. Dr., Indianapo-
lis 46214. To ensure you get the con- If you have questions, call ACBI at 317-
vention rate, call 317-299-8400 and 759-1672 or send a message to acb-
use the code “Council of the Blind.” indiana.org; someone will be in touch
The room rate is $95.00 (plus tax) per with you soon.
night for single or double. The deadline
for making reservations at this rate is We look forward to seeing you in Indi-
October 5. anapolis!
There are two registration choices.
Pay $80.00 for the convention only or
add $10 to include a tour of the Indian-
apolis Motor Speedway “Kiss the CHILL OUT AT THE
Bricks” and museum. Registrations
need to be sent in by October 15. Reg- WINTER RETREAT
ister online at acb-indiana.org and put
your registration on a credit card. After the holiday hustle and bustle, a
relaxing retreat with friends might be
If you have items for the auction, call just what you need. Join us for the Win-
or e-mail the ACBO office by October 5 ter Sports Retreat, January 18 through
to get your item on the auction list; we 21.
have a 20-item limit per state, so don’t
wait too long! Activities may include, but are not lim-
ited to, hiking, swimming, square danc-
Contact the ACBO office if you need ing, shopping, cards and board games,
help organizing transportation; we will snow tubing and/or tobogganing at oth-
have rides available from some loca- er locations, or just cozying up with a
tions and can suggest possible link- good book and relaxing for the week-
ups from others. end.
On Friday evening we will hear from Partial stipends are available on a first-
Peter Berg from the Great Lakes ADA come, first-served basis. Stay tuned to
Center in Chicago. We’re excited to our website (acbohio.org) and your
have Trisha Zorn Hudson, a Paralym- email for pricing and other information
pics gold medalist in swimming, as our as it becomes available.
banquet speaker on Saturday evening.
We’ll have more than 20 vendors and
13JOINT PROGRAM FOSTERS INDEPENDENCE
THROUGH BRAILLE
By Berna King
The Braille Literacy Project has been object was to get the braille student to
an exciting collaboration between the be proficient in the braille alphabet,
National Federation of the Blind of Ohio numbers, and punctuation.
(NFB of Ohio), the American Council of
the Blind of Ohio (ACBO), and Oppor- As a mentor, I discovered that the
tunities for Ohioans with Disabilities weekly calls between me and my stu-
(OOD). The object was to identify a dent became more than just getting
group of adults with severe vision loss through each new braille lesson in the
who were interested in learning the ba- McGuffey Reader. We often discussed
sics of braille and teach them through a ways she could use braille in her daily
combination of classroom learning and life. We reached a milestone the even-
one-on-one tutoring by mentors who ing she told me she had used it to write
read braille fluently. a grocery list and got everything that
was on her list when she went to the
Students participated in a weekend in- store. If an adult braille learner choos-
troductory course on the first five letters es to sit down with a braille book or
of the braille alphabet and the basics of magazine and read it, that is fantastic.
using a slate and stylus and a Perkins Even more important, in my view, is
Brailler. These weekend training cours- that an adult braille learner can begin
es were held in four locations around to use braille for keeping track of per-
the state of Ohio during the spring. sonal written tasks such as grocery
lists, labeling objects, lists of contact
After this initial introduction, braille stu- numbers, recipes, and personal notes.
dents were assigned to mentors who This accomplishment makes a person
met with them at least weekly via more independent in his or her home
phone to go over the lessons that each life, and, if applicable, work life as well.
student was learning from the braille I sincerely hope that NFB of Ohio, AC-
teacher during that week. Mentors as- BO, and OOD will consider such a col-
sisted the students in practicing and laboration again in the future.
moving forward with each lesson. The
14BITS &
or tactile indicators for what money
they are shown are available to qualify
US citizens with vision loss. Find the
BYTES application and instructions here:
moneyfactory.gov/
uscurrencyreaderform.html
► CONNECT DIRECT ► ACCESSIBLE MEDICARE INFO
APH ConnectDirect information and re- Medicare information is soon to be-
ferral number provides information by come easier to read for braille and
phone on virtually any topic related to large-print readers in far easier ways,
visual impairment and blindness. Dial toll including accessible forms and addi-
-free 800-232-5463. You may also submit tional time to respond, since until now,
questions by email at info@aph.org. days were counted against response
time when sending special materials.
► MOBILITY FOR ALL www.adasoutheast.org/news/
This podcast, "Autonomous Vehicles articles.php?id=8708
Provide Mobility for All," is now available.
Henry Claypool, policy consultant for the ► REQUEST A DEVICE
American Association of People with Dis- This nonprofit offers inventive technolo-
abilities, discusses the potential impacts gy for those in need and lacking com-
that autonomous vehicles may have in mercial alternatives, plus information
the workplace and other areas of life. Lis- and referrals for finding the disability-
ten to the podcast and read the transcript related items you may need to work,
here: play or participate in the community.
www.peatworks.org/futureofwork/ maywehelp.org/request-a-device/
podcast/2018/06/AAPD
► LOW & NO COST VISION CARE
► SIT BACK AND FEEL THE VIEW Do you or someone you know need fi-
Italian engineers at Ford have invented a nancial assistance for vision care? For
system for nonvisual travelers to learn a free Ohio listing of no-cost or low-cost
what's passing by outside. "Feel The eyecare services from Prevent Blind-
View" takes pictures that are turned into ness Ohio, in English or Spanish, see
high-contrast monochrome images. ohio.preventblindness.org/ohio-vision-
These are reproduced on the glass using programs
special LEDs. By touching the image, dif-
ferent shades of grey vibrate with a ► HOW SMART SPEAKERS CAN
range of 255 intensities, allowing pas- HELP THOSE WITH VISION LOSS
sengers to touch the scene. In this blog, Google Home and Amazon
fordeurope.blogspot.co.uk/2018/04/feel- Echo are compared and contrasted in
view-smart-window-for-blind.html the scope, comfort and services provid-
ed by each. www.visionaware.org/blog/
► FREE CURRENCY READERS visionaware-blog/smart-speakers-how-
While discussion continues on making they-can-help-people-with-vision-
US bills more accessible to nonvisual us- loss/12
ers, there's no quick end in sight. Howev-
er, free currency readers that make audio
15American Council of the Blind of Ohio
FREE MATTER
3805 N. High St., Suite 305
FOR THE BLIND
Columbus, Ohio 43214
ACB-Ohio Datebook
November 15
October 5 Ohio Connection
Deadline for Auction Items Newsletter Deadline
October 7 January 18-21
ACBO At-large Winter Sports Retreat
Conference Call
call the ACBO office for
phone number & passcode
October 15
White Cane Safety Day
November 2
ACBO Board Meeting
November 2-4
ACBO / ACB Indiana Joint ♫ Hiking in a winter wonderland! ♪
Conference & Convention
IndianapolisYou can also read
