Maryanne Diamond

Welcome to the second edition of this newsletter. The first issue was distributed widely and there was a great deal of encouraging feedback.

I am compiling a list of people who may wish to receive this newsletter via e-mail. If interested, Please contact me at Blind Citizens Australia or leave your e-mail address. (03) 9521 3433 or toll free 1800 033 660

This issue contains a range of material that should interest readers including: two writing competitions, recreation ideas and articles written by blind and vision impaired people willing to share their experiences.

Blind Citizens Australia is currently working with RVIB to establish a chat group for blind and vision impaired students and interested people. Unfortunately, it was not finished at the time this newsletter was being prepared, watch out on the Blind Citizens Australia website.

I plan to centre the last issue of this year around the themes of recreation, leisure and gift ideas for blind and vision impaired children/young adults. Any material most welcome.

In March 2000, the Royal Victorian Institute for the Blind (RVIB) will award further education bursaries to students who are blind or vision impaired. Individual bursaries are valued at up to $4,500. The RVIB Further Education Bursary enables students to purchase adaptive equipment where no other funding source is available.

Eligibility Criteria:

Students of any age can apply for an RVIB Further Education Bursary. Applicants must demonstrate a financial need for assistance, and academic merit.

Applicants must:

* be a Victorian resident;

Closing date: Friday 29 October 1999

For a disk/e-mail copy of the information contact Joanne Webber, Education Consultant on:

Tel: 9520 5555

Toll free: 1800 33 55 88

Fax: 9521 3685

E-mail: webbejo2@rvib2.rvib.org.au

This article appeared in The SWVRC "The Bulletin"

Issue 12

The VisAble Scientific Calculator was developed with support from the Ontario Rehabilitation Technology Consortium (ORTC), Industry Canada, Betacom Corporation, and the University of Waterloo Centre for Sight Enhancement (CSE).

According to promotional material, the VisAble Scientific Calculator performs scientific, statistical and trigonometric calculations. Focus groups were used to determine the functionality and visibility requisites for each feature of the calculator, including its display, keypad and instruction manual. The VisAble Scientific Calculator can be operated easily by a majority of low vision users. In addition, people with normal vision often find the VisAble Scientific Calculator easy and more relaxing to use.

Published surveys of high school students suggest that many visually impaired students are allowed to slip by with less mathematical skill than they are capable of mastering simply because the materials, time and assistance that they require are not available to them. Many students resist using special tools in the classroom because they do not want to appear different from their peers. Consequently, students with low vision systematically abandon science and mathematics courses as they progress through high school. These decisions have a profound impact on the future education and career options for these students.

Accessible Visual Display Output

Accessible Keypad Input

Fully Portable

Accessible Users Manual

The VisAble Scientific Calculator is available from Freedom Vision for US$349 plus shipping & handling

615 Tami Way

Mountain View, CA 94041

Tel: 650-961-6541 Fax: 650-968-4740

From the Internet

This is a serious time-waster! There are pages and pages of animations with suitable music like the dancing chicken page, the dancing fat man page to name just two!

This is a fun website with hundreds of electronic cards to send to your friends. All have music and some are animated. Many have poems or you can write your own message. There are cards for kids, birthdays, holidays, apologies, congratulations and anything else you can possibly imagine.

The Official Paul Jennings Webpage – http://people.enternet.com.au/~jennings

This is a fun website which would appeal to children. It has lots of pictures including covers from his books, which is great though down loading is a little slow. It has a what’s new section with descriptions of his new books and when they will be available in stores. It has inside information such as the projects he is working on at present (eg a movie script and TV series). The complete list of Paul’s books and awards can also be found. There is also a fun and activities section with a quiz, riddles and a game where you solve riddles and find objects from around Pauls house.

The following article appeared in the September - October 1999 edition of EASE Ticket Update:

The Historic Como House and Gardens can now be experienced with the aid of specially created guide books and tapes. The guide has been specially designed by the National Trust in conjunction with Vision Australia, to enhance the experience for people with a vision impairment. Following on from the success of the Old Melbourne Gaol’s guide and tours introduced last year, the Como guide promises to be a great success. Como Historic House and Garden is open daily from 10am to 5pm. A special discounted price is available on presentation of the EASE Membership Card.

When attending an audio described performance, you need to arrive at the theatre at least thirty minutes before the commencement time, to receive equipment, be seated and hear important program notes, cast lists, costumes and stage settings described. Audio descriptions will be available for the following performances:

24 Eastern Road

South Melbourne 3205

From the Canadian National Post, 7 September, 1999

Climbers show anyone can take on the world’s Challenges

Eleven blind or partially sighted young people who overcame altitude sickness and freezing temperatures to scale Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa's highest mountain, say their feat proves anything is possible. Although they were forced to turn back a short distance from the summit, the exhausted and jubilant youngsters said late on Sunday they had proved a point to themselves and the world. "It just shows we can do anything we set our minds to doing. We are visually impaired but that doesn't mean we can't do stuff," said Briton Louise Waddington. "We are just the same as everyone else, it's just that we don't see as well." None of the climbers -five Britons and six Africans aged 14 to 24 - actually made it to Kilimanjaro's summit at 5,895 metres because of treacherous conditions underfoot. But nine of them reached Gillman's Point, 250 metres short of the summit, and the other two made it almost to 5,500 metres before turning back because of altitude sickness. "I was very tired but I was excited and so grateful because I reached the roof of Africa," said Peter Nyombi, a 17 year-old from Uganda blinded by malaria.

The team expects to raise about $167,000 (Cdn) and use the money to restore sight to 5,000 people with cataracts in Africa and Asia. Mr Nyombi said his contribution to the fund-raising effort had convinced him he had something to offer other people. "At first my blindness was just a problem and I felt I couldn’t do anything but I've realised I'm also useful in life." The climbers said the final assault on Kilimanjaro, which began at midnight Wednesday and involved climbing for more than six hours before reaching Gillman's Point, was exhausting and that teamwork built up over nine months of preparations was what kept them going. "It was a sense of teamwork. Everyone felt we were a team and it was a brilliant feeling," said Byron Cooke, a 16-year-old Briton, who said he felt weak, tired and suffered very strong headaches as altitude sickness kicked in on the upper slopes of Kilimanjaro. Stephen Maina, a 21-year-old Kenyan who has been blind for 10 years, said the climb had convinced him he can overcome his disability. "I think I can apply it in my life. If I am given support and I show courage, I think I can do anything."

The expedition was organised to celebrate the 50th birthday of Sight Savers International, a charity that treats blind people.

Primary School Children & Guide Dog Mobility

Saturday October 9, 10am - 12.30pm 1999

This is an opportunity for families who have a young person with a vision impairment, who may one day work with a guide dog. The session is focused toward parents gaining a greater understanding in the utilisation of a Guide Dog as a future mobility aid, and most importantly understanding the mobility skills that a child needs to work toward throughout primary and secondary school, regardless of the mobility aid used. The session will also allow families to talk with a Guide Dog Instructor, ask questions and see a Guide Dog working in harness. For the children it is a fun chance to cuddle some puppies, have faces painted and check out the contents of the guide dog show bag.

Young Adults Exploring Guide Dog Mobility

Monday 6 December - Friday 10 December 1999

Due to the popularity of the September program of the same theme, the program is running again in December. Bookings have already been taken, and only a few places remain.

Are you 15 - 21 years of age, developing Orientation & Mobility Skills and have an interest in learning more about the benefits and demands of Guide Dog mobility? Spend the week living in the Training Centre and working with a trained guide dog allocated to you for the week. This hands on program provides an opportunity to realistically explore the demands and rewards of Guide Dog mobility.

Experience the first stages of training with a Guide Dog. Your Instructor will introduce you to harness work, leash control, obedience training. Together you will tackle residential, semi business and night walks.

Be responsible for the feeding, grooming and toileting of your dog.

Discover how dogs learn, along with their behaviour, senses and instincts.

Learn about the importance of partnership in Guide Dog mobility.

Discuss your own mobility expectations with a Guide Dog Instructor.

This is an opportunity for young people with a vision impairment, who are interested in knowing more about Guide Dog mobility as a future mobility aid, to talk with a Guide Dog Instructor, ask questions and walk with a Guide Dog in harness.

These programs (including accommodation and meals in the December program) are free of charge. Please ring Kaye Jones, Guide Dog Association of Victoria, on 9854 4450 for further information and registration.

The World Blind Union (WBU), in cooperation with the Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB), invites any individual to enter a Braille essay contest on the topic 'What Braille Means To Me'. Essays should be written from a personal perspective and describe how Braille has affected or changed a life.

Ten winners will be chosen: each winner will receive $500 (Canadian) and the winning essays will be published in English, French and Spanish and distributed internationally. Published essays will become the property of the WBU. Submissions must be postmarked or received electronically by February 1, 2000.

Entry Rules

The contest is open to individuals who are blind, visually impaired, deafblind or sighted. There are no citizenship restrictions.

Entries can be submitted in English, French or Spanish.

There is no entry fee.

Entries may be written in print or Braille; electronic submissions are preferred.

The essay should be 1,000 to 1,500 words in length.

Each entry must include, on a separate sheet of paper, the individual's name, address and phone number. Essays should not include personal identification within the text.

Winning essays will be selected based on their ability to capture the judges' interest and how compelling, powerful and creative they are.

Entries will be judged by an international panel.

Submissions will not be returned.

Entries should be sent to:

CNIB

1929 Bayview Ave.

Toronto, ON M4G 3E8

Attention: James W. Sanders

or by e-mail to: sanderj@east.cnib.ca

The Statewide Vision Resource Centre is conducting a writing competition this year. Students with a vision impairment are invited to enter the completion on the topic "My Favourite Thing". Writing must be accompanied by an illustration or artistic creation, which relates to the written piece.

Four winners will be chosen from year levels:

All entrants will receive a certificate and the winner from each of the of groups will receive $50. The winning essay will be published in The Bulletin.

All work will become the property of the SVRC.

Winners will be notified by mail. The decision of the judges is final.

Submissions must be postmarked or received electronically by 26th November 1999.

Entry Rules

Statewide Vision Resource Centre

PO Box 201

Nunawading 3131

By Lynne Davis

This article appeared in the May 1999 edition of BCA NEWS

When I was first diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa, the initial reaction of many people (family, friends and acquaintances) was to ask if I was going to learn Braille. In marked contrast, no medical or rehabilitation professional ever raised this issue with me. Indeed, when I raised the subject myself, one rehabilitation worker informed me that Braille was an outmoded system, which had been supplanted by modern technologies such as the tape recorder and the personal computer. When I began to spend time with blind people, though, I discovered that this was not a view which they shared. They valued their Braille literacy very highly, seeing it as being complemented but not supplanted by the new technologies. How, for instance, could one learn to write, and to spell, if one's only contact with the language was auditory? How could one learn to appreciate the power, the structure, and the beauty of language in its written, as well as spoken, form? How could one read unobtrusively, anywhere and at any time, especially in public situations? Imagine the uproar if it was to be suggested that these were no longer important goals of the school system, if it were suggested that schools get rid of their books and replace them with new technologies ?

Mostly, though, the arguments around the importance of Braille literacy were focussed on children's learning. What I really wanted to know was about the place of Braille in the lives of people who lose their sight in adulthood. People, that is, who are already literate but have lost the ability to read print. I found it very difficult to tap into discussions of this subject - and hence the seeds of this article were sown.

In the end, I went ahead and enrolled in a Braille class for adults, without the benefit of much advice or information but with a firm conviction that if I could learn this new way of reading and writing it would enable me to do some things I valued highly. I had gained the impression that Braille learning posed too much of a challenge for adults, the amount of effort required outweighing any benefits one could hope to gain, so I wasn't entirely confident that this venture was going to succeed!

One year later I have completed my Grade 2 Braille course. The students in my class still meet weekly in a Braille peer support group, as we all recognise that our new skills are pretty fragile - you could say our motto is "use it or lose it". I'm still a very slow reader, but I know that this is definitely something, which will improve with practice. I'm not so sure about my memory, though. I find it very frustrating to realise how easily I once would have remembered this new code, and how hard it is to make things stick these days. Strangely enough, this wasn't the way I'd expected things to be. My big worries were about whether my fingers, having weathered half a century of wear and tear, would be able to feel the dots. As it happens, this hasn't been much of an issue at all.

I enjoy writing Braille, and it gives me a lot of pleasure to be able to send and receive letters to and from blind friends and colleagues. For me, learning is always easiest when the content is meaningful, so I much prefer my personal correspondence to the meaninglessness of classroom exercises. I get a real thrill out of being able to read in the dark, or under the table. I don't know why, since I'm free to read when and where I choose - I think it must be a throwback to the forbidden delights of childhood! But I'm incensed about the costs of Braille writing: Braille paper costs vastly more than ordinary writing paper, and the Perkins Brailler (the Braille equivalent of the ballpoint pen, really) costs between $800 and $1300! Blind children may acquire their Braillers as part of their schooling, but, apart from short-term loan schemes, adults must purchase their own. What is the point of learning to write if you can't afford writing implements?

I was also surprised to learn that Grade 2 Braille is taught to adults in only a few centres in Australia - what happens, I wonder, to people who don't live in those centres (most of the population)? Even though I'm one of the privileged few who have access to these classes, it isn't easy access. Classes in Sydney are held in only one location (an hour's travel in each direction by train and bus from my home), and only on weekdays. I had to wait until I left the workforce before I could enrol in the Braille class!

Among the adults I met while attending classes, there were many different reasons for learning Braille and, as a result, many different goals to attain. In my own case, my particular goal was to be able to speak in public from Braille notes - a goal I think I will eventually attain. I was saddened to meet a number of people who, as children with low vision, had neither been taught Braille nor become print literate (what an indictment of our education system). Their principal goal was to achieve the literacy they had been denied as children, and to obtain educational qualifications.

This article appeared in the August edition of BCA NEWS

Many readers of Blind Citizens News will be aware that Bruce Maguire is one of Australia's most enthusiastic users of Braille. In partnership with his wife Bruce runs Brailleways, which produces material in Braille, large print and computer disk.

In 1998 Bruce commenced study for a Master of Policy and Applied Social Research degree at Macquarie University. His aim was to develop skills that would help him make a contribution to the field of debate and research in disability issues.

Earlier this year, Bruce was awarded the June Opie Fellowship for 1999. This fellowship is the first of its kind in the world, and is designed as an incentive for students of high academic achievement who also have a severe disability. It is primarily intended for those who plan to undertake graduate study with a view to preparing themselves for a role in the professions, in politics, or in university teaching and research, and who have a continuing interest in disability issues.

The fellowship, which is available to permanent residents of Australia, Canada and New Zealand, is made to enable the recipient to pursue effective study and preparation for the future.

"I never really thought that I had a chance of being awarded the fellowship," Bruce said, "and it is a great honour, not just for me, but for blind people in Australia. As part of my degree, I plan to do some research into the effects of unemployment on the lives of blind people. Most research done into blindness regards blind people as numbers; I don't want to come up with a lot of statistics, but rather I want to talk to people about what unemployment means for them in their lives, and how it has changed the way they think about things. I'm especially interested in the effects of unemployment on the way blind people participate as citizens in the life of the community. I'm hoping that I will be able to make some useful statements about how service providers can be more effective in assisting blind people to deal with the experience and effects of unemployment."

If anyone would like to talk to Bruce about participating in the research, he can be contacted on 02-9639-5346, or by e-mail at bmaguire@ign.com.au.

Congratulations, Bruce, on winning this very prestigious award!

September 28, 1999

Dear Friends,

Blind Citizens Australia invites you to an Employment Forum on Saturday November 13 between 10 AM – 3 PM. The forum will be held at the John Pierce Centre, 2 Donald Street Prahran. It will provide an opportunity to discuss the issues and concerns to blind and vision impaired people when accessing and maintaining employment.

Blind Citizens Australia is the united voice of blind and vision impaired Australians and has the respect of governments and independent agencies for its work in representing the interests of all vision impaired Australians.

The Forum is free and a light lunch will be provided. The program will include guest speakers from Centrelink, employment agencies, Blind Citizens Australia and panel of blind and vision impaired people sharing their experiences in looking for and changing employment. You will also have an opportunity to ask questions and discuss issues that you believe are important.

We look forward to seeing you at the Forum.

If you would like to attend the Forum or would like further information, please telephone our Melbourne office, toll free on 1800 033 660.

Yours sincerely

Maryanne Diamond

Victorian Advocacy and Information Officer

Blind Citizens Australia