HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: Bill.Reif@f12.n233.z1.fidonet.org (Bill Reif)
Newsgroups: misc.handicap
Subject: Illinois Braille bill
Date: 14 Apr 92 18:24:44 GMT
Reply-To: Bill.Reif@f12.n233.z1.fidonet.org
Organization: FidoNet node 1:233/12 - The Temples of Syri, Springfield IL

Index Number: 21139

[This is from the Blink Talk Conference]

* Original Area: BLINDTLK
* Original To  : All Illinoisans (1:233/12)

     The Illinois affiliate of the National Federation of the Blind has
been working, for several years, toward the enactment of legislation
guaranteeing the right of blind children to be taught braille.  The
negative effect that schools substituting magnifyers, closed-circuit TV
and cassette recorders for braille instruction has had on the literacy
has been so wide-spread in this country that the blind almost universally
support whatever steps are necessary to improve the availability and
quality of braille instruction.  The "experts"' assertion that anyone
capable of reading print need not be bothered with braille is erroneous;
and we will do whatever's necessary to reverse the trend of decreasing
literacy for blind children.

     A braille bill similar to our model bill, already enacted in several
states, is being considered in the Illinois Senate's primary/secondary
education committee.  A public hearing on S1544 will take place on
Tuesday, April 21st, at 10:00.  Despite the fact that braille literacy is
now a trendy issue, there will almost certainly be attempts to water-down
some of its requirements, particularly those mandating braille competency
of resource teachers.  I urge all in a position to do so, to come to
Springfield, attend this hearing, and submit oral or written comments.
All of us, from both organizations, need to assure that this legislation
is more than window-dressing; and that greater numbers of blind children
will begin receiving the braille instruction they deserve.
___
 X BABBLE v1.0 X The NFB is changing what it means to be blind!

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Internet: Bill.Reif@f12.n233.z1.fidonet.org
From: Christopher.Hill@p233.f4115.n124.z1.fidonet.org (Christopher Hill)
Newsgroups: misc.handicap
Subject: Re: Electric cars and the blind
Date: 11 Apr 92 12:46:02 GMT
Reply-To: Christopher.Hill@p233.f4115.n124.z1.fidonet.org
Organization: FidoNet node 1:124/4115.233 - Southern Crossroads, Grapevine TX

Index Number: 20981

[This is from the Blink Talk Conference]

 PR> From: pjr@arctic.princeton.edu (Peter Rayner)
 PR> Message-ID: <20606@handicap.news>
 PR> Index Number: 20606

 PR> The recent thread on the supposed threat of emergent graphical user
 PR> interfaces started me thinking about anticipating the dangers of
 PR> new technology.  Things like capacitive touch panels (those things
 PR> you put your finger near rather than on to activate) were a good
 PR> example of genuinely difficult technology.  These can be worked
 PR> around and are becoming unfashionable anyway.  I did manage to come
 PR> up with one technology which is a possible boon to most of society
 PR> and a bit of a problem for the blind ... the electric car.

 PR> Being an ivory tower university type I've been runnning into these
 PR> things (pun intended) for a decade now.  They have frequently
 PR> reminded me that crossing even quiet roads on campus is not a good
 PR> time for intellectual deliberation.  Because of legislative and
 PR> opinion changes these things are about to get a good deal more
 PR> common.  If you haven't come across them, these things are QUIET.
 PR> I have had their sound masked just by conversations going on around
 PR> me.

Couple of things I can think of:  1.  Make them come equipped with
some sort of constant whistle, this would not only be good for the
blind, but also for the sighted who happened to not be paying
attention, as well as maybe cutting down the number of animals
ashed by these machines.

Seems the major problem is the warning time will be decreased.
Maybe something could be done through ada here.  And no, I'm not
kidding about the whistle,  I believe it could be done.  No special
equipment needed by the pedestrian.

 Later..
 Chris

... its only a hobby, only a hobby, only...

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Internet: Christopher.Hill@p233.f4115.n124.z1.fidonet.org
From: Karen.Keil@f71.n343.z1.fidonet.org (Karen Keil)
Newsgroups: misc.handicap
Subject: Me and We and Deafness
Date: 13 Apr 92 20:58:45 GMT
Reply-To: Karen.Keil@f71.n343.z1.fidonet.org
Organization: FidoNet node 1:343/71 - Seattle Hearing Imp, Seattle WA

Index Number: 21056

[This is from the Silent Talk Conference]

Still continued.....
Will quote this section again with more comments....

 JW>      I hope your feelings are less mixed now. Mine
 JW> were once mixed too. I used to hate sign language
 JW> in any form. I used to detest deaf people, though I
 JW> was deaf myself. Then I discovered both myself and
 JW> my Deaf self, and I love them both. It does not
 JW> mean I reject others, either "deaf" or hearing. It
 JW> means I'm not ashamed of who and what I am. It
 JW> means I under the "me" better. It means I accept my
 JW> deafness and love  "my people." That I will not
 JW> waste my time and life trying to be something I am
 JW> not. I simply am. And I belong.

I don't have a Deaf self.  I have a 'me' self, a personal identity
that has common elements with other people that enables me to be
part of many groups--family, national, social, etc.  I identify
with other deaf people and clip out articles wherever I find them,
for ex. the Denver Broncos football deaf black player Kenny
Walker.  I identify with him and root for him because we have an
element in common in our identities--deafness.

I subscribe to a variety of Deaf publications and magazines not
only to learn more about the Deaf culture, but also to benefit from
the information to make my life easier.  For instance, information
about TDDs, relay services, experiences of other deaf people to
show that I'm not alone in experiencing certain things.  For the
same reason, I joined SHHH to make my life better and more
meaningful.

There are many things that could be said or expressed, but writing
this has lifted some of the load off my chest.  The bottom line is,
I'm not a hearing person and will never be able to do many things
most hearing people enjoy, and I will not be able to participate
fully in their conversations and gatherings.  But, at the same
time, I'm not a 'Deaf' person and won't be able to participate
fully in the Deaf world unless I learn sign language and other
cultural things.  I'm in between, and the idea of the Deaf culture
to be 'exclusive' is NOT a wise course to be pursued!

I'm trying to meet everyone halfway, both hearing and Deaf and
deaf, and the desire of some 'Deaf' people to be exclusive does not
make things easier.

Enough for now...I said too much!

Karen

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Internet: Karen.Keil@f71.n343.z1.fidonet.org
From: Chris.Shubert@p0.f810.n104.z1.fidonet.org (Chris Shubert)
Newsgroups: misc.handicap
Subject: Sight-impaired technologies
Date: 7 Apr 92 21:20:43 GMT
Reply-To: Chris.Shubert@p0.f810.n104.z1.fidonet.org
Organization: FidoNet node 1:104/810.0 - Electronic Library, Denver CO

Index Number: 20922

[This is from the Blink Talk Conference]

Hello,

I am new to this conference, and not sight-impaired (unless you count
extreme but correctable nearsightedness).

I am looking for information regarding sight-impaired access technologies
for Unix systems.  I work for AT&T, and the information will be used to help
design a project called Operator Services for the Deaf, which expects to use
sight-impaired operators.

Any information or leads will be quite well appreciated.  Thank you in
advance.

Sincerely,

X

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Internet: Chris.Shubert@p0.f810.n104.z1.fidonet.org
From: drieux@wetware.com (drieux, just drieux)
Newsgroups: misc.handicap
Subject: On the discussion about durable powers of attorney
Date: 6 Apr 92 21:20:37 GMT
Reply-To: drieux@wetware.com (drieux, just drieux)
Organization: Castle WetWare Philosopher and Sniper

Index Number: 20809

It appears that folks seem totally unaware of the
fact that CHILDREN are not authorized to seek medical
care on their own, and that they are OBLIGED to get
the authorization of their Parent or Other Legal Guardian.

] In article <20609@handicap.news>, covici@ccs.covici.com (John Covici) says:

it appears that John Covici assumes that this state of
affairs, in regards to children, means that Doctors will
NOT perform life saving procedures on children.

What the Michigan policy appears to present is that as we
become adults, and thus our own legal guardians, we can
appoint another to take such actions on our behalf during
such times when we are incable of being our own advocate.

This may appear NEW to some folks who live in the USA, but
has, in many respects been accepted practice amongst many of
us who travel, and that to 'hostile environments.' I know from
my own growing up, in a military household, that father would
brief us on the Standard Procedures, including who was executor
of the will. We were therefore Briefed and Ready should this time
out he be taken hostage, or executed by terrorists. We had things
clearly detailed, in writing and legally sealed so that He would
be interred where ever he died, and no efforts would be made to
recover the body. We would then report to the executor of the will
for the Promulgation of who would be come Our Legal Guardian, and
thus the executor of our medical and legal concerns.

This is called the application of the 'Prudent Man Theory'.

Now that the causes of death have become greatly changed, with
the invention of newer 'life sustaining' methodologies, it is
likewise prudent to establish what limits one wishes to impose
upon one's family in regards to keeping one's self alive.

Again it appears that the standard practice will be that in lieu
of other Standing Orders the Hippocratic Oath[1] will take precedence.

We who are accustomed to doing triage, I feel safe to say, are pleased
that one part of the discussion can be discussed with a person legally
empowered to answer the question, "when is enough?"

ciao
drieux

[1] note: "do your patient no Harm" does NOT mean that a doctor
is morally obliged to maintain a vegetative flat brain waved
cadaver on life support systems. The Problem that needs to be
addressed is resolving when in fact further efforts to 'maintain
a life' in fact begins to do harm. In like manner, allowing a
patient to die with DIGNITY is a Far cry from 'terminating' a patient.

Please also NOTE that the matter of using transfusions on members
of the Jehovah's Witnesses has already been cleared up in medical
ethics. Irregardless of what a Medical Doctor may FEEL about the
use of an IV blood transfusion as a life saving method, it would be
a breach of medical ethics if the patient has clearly established
that such would be a violation of their fundamental religious beliefs.
From: Barbara.Akin@p0.f15.n114.z1.fidonet.org (Barbara Akin)
Newsgroups: misc.handicap
Subject: To Tell, Or Not To Tell
Date: 14 Apr 92 18:34:30 GMT
Reply-To: Barbara.Akin@p0.f15.n114.z1.fidonet.org
Organization: FidoNet node 1:114/15.0 - St Joes Hospital, Phoenix AZ

Index Number: 21181

[This is from the Blink Talk Conference]

Dave, I have to say I strongly agree with Henry here.
I taught Wordperfect for several years out there in the sighted work
place, and I Never told them I was blind!
You do need to ask yourself, is my blindness a relivant issue when it
pertains to this job? I don't think so.
If you say "by the way, I'm blind" then you Do get into that messy
business of answering all kinds of questions about how you can posibly
do it, either that, or they'll just dismiss you right away, and you'll
Never get your foot in the door.
I don't think I am hiding anything by not telling about my blindness,
I'm just making sure I get an equal opportunity at getting my foot in
the door.
I feel that telling that I am blind would only lessen those chances.
This is because of the usual sterio types some folks have about
blindness.
In rare cases, when the fact of my blindness was relivant, then I told,
but in every other case I never did.
I'd just show up at the work place, and after a couple of minutes of
suprise, they would get over it,and we'd get down to business.
At one time, I was paid $90 a session on a particular job I worked on,
so don't blow your chances!
I find people are very accepting once they see the quality of your
instruction as a computer tutor, and the blindness is all but forgotten.

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Uucp: ..!{decvax,oliveb}!bunker!hcap!hnews!114!15.0!Barbara.Akin
Internet: Barbara.Akin@p0.f15.n114.z1.fidonet.org
From: Carl.Zebooker@p7.f349.n109.z1.fidonet.org (Carl Zebooker)
Newsgroups: misc.handicap
Subject: A.D.A.
Date: 7 Apr 92 21:19:49 GMT
Reply-To: Carl.Zebooker@p7.f349.n109.z1.fidonet.org
Organization: FidoNet node 1:109/349.7 - PerManNet, Washington DC

Index Number: 20920

[This is from the Blink Talk Conference]

This may already be obvious, but I think each sign should
have a "translation" to ensure that the sighted person who
may place or move it will know what it means.

I suggest mounting a Braille label on a plastic plaque with
a sight-accessible "translation."

Carl Z.

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Internet: Carl.Zebooker@p7.f349.n109.z1.fidonet.org
From: David.Tanner@f168.n129.z1.fidonet.org (David Tanner)
Newsgroups: misc.handicap
Subject: Re: ansi.sys and dos v5.x
Date: 10 Apr 92 04:32:45 GMT
Reply-To: David.Tanner@f168.n129.z1.fidonet.org
Organization: FidoNet node 1:129/168 - Braille Bank BBS, Pittsburgh PA

Index Number: 20942

[This is from the Blink Talk Conference]

Yes, ASAP fixed the problem with MS DOS 5.0 ansi.sys clear back
last fall, within three months after the release of 5.00. Most
other producers of speech have not done any thing about it yet.

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Internet: David.Tanner@f168.n129.z1.fidonet.org
From: Joe.Chamberlain@p1.f175.n150.z1.fidonet.org (Joe Chamberlain)
Newsgroups: misc.handicap
Subject: Spinal Network
Date: 7 Apr 92 18:02:57 GMT
Reply-To: Joe.Chamberlain@p1.f175.n150.z1.fidonet.org
Organization: FidoNet node 1:150/175.1 - Busted Flush BBS, New Castle DE

Index Number: 20867

[This is from the Spinal Injury Conference]

 JD-  Hi joe, Until hooking up with ADAnet my involvment in PwDs
 JD-  magizines or networks involving PwDs has been nill. What is Spinal
 JD-  Network?

SPINAL NETWORK is a quarterly magazine for the spiinal cord
injuried and is available for $15 for a years subscription.  Call
1-800-338-5412.

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Internet: Joe.Chamberlain@p1.f175.n150.z1.fidonet.org
From: Glen.Sepke@f2.n348.z1.fidonet.org (Glen Sepke)
Newsgroups: misc.handicap
Subject: Exception dictionaries
Date: 14 Apr 92 18:26:54 GMT
Reply-To: Glen.Sepke@f2.n348.z1.fidonet.org
Organization: FidoNet node 1:348/2 - Man-Net-EC, Winnipeg MB

Index Number: 21146

[This is from the Blink Talk Conference]

>How are you using it?
I tend not to enter many words, but consistant strings of non-
english text - EG. "===>" is said as " " (which is nothing).
>About how many words do you typically define?
No more than 30.
> Do you prefer to define exceptions interactively, or to
>use a word processor to create a file of exceptions?
I prefer interactive, but word processor is okay.
>What do you or don't you like about the way your system works?
As exceptions tend to be a 1 time kind of thing, I consider the
usability of the dictionary very low on my priority list of functions.

 ** OMKREAD w/QWK v2.01 **

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From: 34AEJ7D%CMUVM.BITNET@VM1.nodak.edu (Bill Gorman)
Newsgroups: misc.handicap
Subject: Pipe Dreams
Date: 6 Apr 92 21:27:22 GMT
Reply-To: 34AEJ7D%CMUVM.BITNET@VM1.nodak.edu (Bill Gorman)
X-Fidonet: Spinal Injury Conference

Index Number: 20807

>In a message to Joe Chamberlain <12 Mar 92 17:27> John Desantis wrote:
>
> JD> Abuse if implemented correctly could be
> JD> cut to almost none. How? Few
> examples.
>
>Hundreds of thousands of disabled  persons live outside of nursing facilities
>at the present time without the support of your attendant program. As soon as
>the program is  implemented, it will be abused. At  the present time, parents
>of children with a disability can secure  four hours of respite care each day
>from our  medicaid program.  Some parents  choose to  work, others  shop, and
>still others watch TV while the home health aide cooks dinner.

Excuse me,  but by saying this  you are displaying appalling  insensitivity to
the needs of  able-bodied care-givers; something I have noted  being done by a
number of disABLED individuals. I know. I  am disABLED myself, and I have been
guilty of this behavior.

OK, so we are the ones who are  "disabled". Fine. But it can be more stressful
than many of us  realize or are willing to admit for  an able-bodied person to
act as care-giver, on whatever level. Why  should we begrudge them a few hours
respite from  what can otherwise  seem like a life  sentence at hard  labor if
that is what is  needed to restore their morale? Remember,  *we* depend of the
state of their morale, too.

>Family, wives, parents all over the country are helping their disabled family
>members cope with their  needs of daily living. They do  it much cheaper than
>any federal program and  with a much greater sense of love  and caring than a
>paid attendant.

In many  cases, that may  be true.  In many other  cases it is  definitely NOT
true. My father died because there was  nobody available for a couple of hours
a day to  see that he got a  balanced diet and took his  medicine for diabetes
and cancer.  I came to check  on him whenever I  could arrange transportation,
and  in every  instance I  found  freeloaders had  moved  in on  him and  were
stealing his things.  No matter how many  times I ran them out,  they would be
back soon after I departed. Now tell me how an attendant "who didn't love him"
would have  been bad  for him.  He didn't  need "love"  from an  attendant, he
needed service. The idea that family members can, or will, care for each other
in this age of the dissolution of the nuclear, to say nothing of the extended,
family is a myth that belongs  with the other fondly-recalled falsehoods about
The Good Old Days.

>If they, the disabled, are coping without the aide, then why create a program
>that will end up costing billions.

If the homeless/rape victims/abused children/addicted/whatever are coping, why
have Welfare/govt. housing/Protective Services/drug rehab. services (that will
all cost billions) available for any of them? Same philosophy.

Where better to spend "billions" than on the needs of People?

Sez me,

W. K. (Bill) Gorman

ADA - Because America takes care of Her Own.
From: Sandra.Greenwood@f325.n110.z1.fidonet.org (Sandra Greenwood)
Newsgroups: misc.handicap
Subject: Adhesions
Date: 7 Apr 92 17:55:45 GMT
Reply-To: Sandra.Greenwood@f325.n110.z1.fidonet.org
Organization: FidoNet node 1:110/325 - MED-Tech BBS, Union OH

Index Number: 20845

[This is from the Chronic Pain Conference]

Joel,
    This is the first message that I have received from you.  It sounds like
 you are in the situation that I am trying to avoid.  The last time I
 complained, they offered to take out my intestines and fit me with a bag.  To
me this sounded like jumping from the frying pan into the fire.
     I know what you mean about the quick changes of this condition.  One day
I will be out working in the yard, the next day I'll be in bed curled in a
 ball.  People just don't understand this.  I don't know if you go through
 this, but if I have a couple of almost good days, I get to where I am afraid
 to eat or move, since I don't know for sure what aggrivates my condition.  On
the other hand, if I have several bad days in a row, I want to stay in bed and
 never get up.  This BBS'ing has really helped.  It gives me a reason to get
 up, even if it's just to check the E-mail.
     I made a few calls the other day to see if there was a way to get a local
 support group going and the people I talked to didn't seem interested.  They
 said it wasn't a big enough problem.  Easy for them to say.  If any one out
 there knows the proper contacts to make, please let me know.
    Let's try to keep this thread active.  You are the first person that I
 have communicated with that actually has the same problem.  Others can't
 understand what we go through.  A doctor can tell you, if it hurts, don't do
 that, but when it involves something as basic as eating and using the
 bathroom, it makes each day an ordeal.
    I hope your procedure goes well, and that it does not result in another
 operation.  I had a kink or what ever yesterday, so I am very sore and cannot
sit at this computer any longer.  Will talk to you later and will remember you
 in my prayers.
Sandie

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Internet: Sandra.Greenwood@f325.n110.z1.fidonet.org
From: hayes@anaconda.cis.ohio-state.edu (Patrick Hayes)
Newsgroups: misc.handicap
Subject: Re: Deaf Culture
Date: 17 Apr 92 17:03:23 GMT
Reply-To: hayes@anaconda.cis.ohio-state.edu (Patrick Hayes)
Organization: Ohio State Computer Science
X-Fidonet: Silent Talk Conference

Index Number: 21203
Comments: Hyperbole mail buttons accepted, v3.0P.

In article <21047@handicap.news> Wayne.Silsbee@p1.f222.n105.z1.fidonet.org
(Wayne Silsbee) writes:

   Okay. I'll accept this analysis. It *looks* unstructured. From my
   original argument, this changes nothing. It still *causes* the
   shortening and "de-structuralizing" of English when English is
   signed.

Uh, well at least _signed_ English. But this grammatical shift is a
function of the modality and I don't know how you're going to prevent
a grammatical shift in an MCE - maybe one of those dog collars with
with the radio controlled electric shocker. You can poke the student
every time he/she lets one of those insidious spatial grammatical
constructs sneak into his/her signed English :)

Now, when talking about _written_ English: I interviewed a woman who
taught deaf high school students last November for a paper I was
writing for a class. She switched from using Signed English to ASL in
class a few years ago. She's now keeping the instruction in English
entirely written (as opposed to using MCE) and said that she's getting
much better results. She said that by not enforcing an English syntax
in signing, the students are more creative, and when she says "OK,
that's a good idea. Now how would you write it on the blackboard?" the
students view more like a game and less like drudgery.

And for a brief plug on my idea of how to English to deaf students -
give them Internet access. It's the only place I can think of where
they can experience real-time social interaction in English and be
able to receive and transmit the full signal, and with no disadvantage
compared to the hearing. My guess is that it would be a big help for
spelling, grammar, and vocabulary.

Just an idea.

---PCH