wtm@decvax.dec.com (Bill McGarry) (02/13/90)
THE HANDICAP DIGEST
Issue # 1090
Tuesday, February 13, 1990
Today's Topics:
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Re: Large Print Software
Tinnitus
Re: FM Assistive Listening Devices
Tools for the disAbled
Re: Theaters and Wheelchair Users
Software for Unicorn Expanded Keyboard
Re: TINNITUS
Re: A NEW CANE
Re: classroom groupings
Re: Should I try to teach?
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Subject: Re: Large Print Software
Written by: carey@hpccc.hp.com (Ken Carey)
Organization: HP Corp Computing & Services
Hello Tom,
I use the T.S.I./VTEK Inc. Vista system for PC image enlargement.
I think it's great. From what I have heard it is the best
available but it is not cheap. You can phone them for further
details at (800) 227-8418.
You might be able to find a lower cost alternative at The National
Institute for Rehabilitation Engineering, which is a non-profit
organication. I am anticipating buying a portable Closed Circuit
Television (CCTV) visual enlargement system (or electronic reading
aid as they call it) from them. You can call Donald Selwyn, the
Director, at (800) 736-2216.
Hope this helps,
Ken Carey
carey@hpccc.hp.com
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Subject: Tinnitus
Written by: lee@smiley.mitre.org (Annabelle Lee)
Just had to add my two cents worth on tinnitus. I've had it for
almost 15 years - due to MS. At first it drove me NUTS - particularly
when the Dr. said I was nuts!!! (Only later was I diagnosed with MS.)
I have a high pitched tone in both ears, worse in the left ear. At
first, I had a fish tank to help mask the sound. It really helped. I
am basically used to it now - however I am NEVER in a quiet room with
no noise. I have found that salt affects the tinnitus. I have cut
out almost all salt. I mean really cut out - not just deleted from
cooking. Salt free ingredients at all times - check certain foods.
(Did you know peas are naturally very high in sodium?)
Being tired also makes the condition worse. And for me it is bad in
the morning.
At one point, I checked into masking devices that are put in the ear,
like hearing aids. With my frequency they only made things worse.
But you might want to check.
Any way I can offer more suggestions, please let me know!!
Regards,
- Annabelle Lee, phone: (703) 883-7105
The MITRE Corporation, 7525 Colshire Drive
Mc Lean, VA 22102
Mail Stop Z268 (new mail stop)
e-mail address: lee%smiley@gateway.mitre.org
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Subject: Re: FM Assistive Listening Devices
Written by: dmimi@uncecs.edu (Mimi Clifford)
Vixen:
I'm glad the Pocket Talker works well for you. However, it is not
as powerful as the FM and, if one's hearing loss is more severe,
simply won't make it. It is also far from as clear as a good FM
system.
Anyway, I don't understand why an FM system would cost $1700. I
have a Comtek tranmitter and receiver. The cost was ~$700. That's
not cheap, I know, but it's much less than you indicated. Someone
is making big bucks, it sounds like. We paid 'retail', getting
directly from Audio Enhancements (which is the distributer)
I would assume, by the way, that Claudia Anderson, the head of
Audio Enhancements, will be at the SHHH Convention in Little Rock,
so maybe some of you'all will get to meet her. She's a neat lady.
An engineer by training, who has (I think) 2 deaf kids--which is
why she got interested in ALDs.
BTW, I have no connection with her or Comtek, except as a very
pleased user, who was lucky enough to meet Claudia.
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Subject: Tools for the disAbled
Written by: SRCLARK@COLOSPGS.BITNET (Steve Clark)
Hi,
I've posted before asking for suggestions on tools for the
*disAbled*. Now I'm asking for critical evaluations of one of my
own ideas.
I propose a hand held ultrasonic or infrared ranging device
that would allow the blind to *see* the contours of their surroundings.
I propose the system for a hearing user would provide feed-
back in the form of a tone that changes frequency with respect to
changes in distance from the device to the sensed object. This tone
could be supplied to the user by earphone or earphones. For a
non-hearing user the feedback could be a vibrator in the device
that changes intensity with respect to distance to the sensed
object.
In either case *I think* the device would allow the non-seer
to *see* these
1. People in the way
2. Obstacles in the way (a tree!)
3. Doorways in a hall
4. Both walls in a hallway
5. Stairs (if the resolution is good)
6. Maybe more
Cane users use tactile feedback to sense their surroundings
and I think this tool could be beneficial because it could extend
the *reach* to about 30 feet or so.
I may be wrong about the prospective usefulness of this device.
If I am please let me know. Criticism is what I'm looking for.
Steve
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Subject: Re: Theaters and Wheelchair Users
Written by: era@niwot.scd.ucar.edu (Ed Arnold)
Organization: Scientific Computing Division/NCAR, Boulder, CO
In article <10069@bunker.UUCP> Ron.Rothenberg@f460.n101.z1.fidonet.org writes:
|Index Number: 6663
|
|THEATER LOBBY FIGHTS ADA
|
|"Safety" is the issue, says the National Association of Theatre Owners,
|whose members own over 12,000 of the nation's movie houses.
|Association lobbyists are pushing to have the Americans with
|Disabilities Act restrict where theatergoers in wheelchairs can sit.
|When the ADA went to the House Judiciary Committee this fall, it
|stipulated that movie houses integrate wheelchair seating throughout
|the theater.
With regard to the theater industry ... here's a classic gaff:
Here in Boulder (CO), the Fox Theater (part of the Mann's Theaters chain)
brought the movie "My Left Foot" to town. In this case, the title
must be referring to what the manager inserted in his mouth ... cuz,
while showing a movie about the disabled, he forgot the minor matter
of his theater having no wheelchair access whatsoever.
--
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Ed Arnold * era@ncar.ucar.edu * era@ncario [bitnet] * ...!ncar!era [uucp]
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Subject: Software for Unicorn Expanded Keyboard
Written by: person@plains.NoDak.edu (Brett G. Person)
A friend of mine has an expanded keyboard and a blank software
distribution disk.
That's right. They sent him a completely blank program disk.
The company he bought the keyboard from apparently no longer handles the
keyboard or is refusing to send him a new disk.
Anyone have any ideas what to do about this?
Thanks
-Brett
P.S. the keyboard is a PC-serial Aid.
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Subject: Re: TINNITUS
Written by: rudy@cbnewsj.ATT.COM (Avram r Vener)
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories
Yes, the profoundly deaf can have tinnitus. I am profoundly deaf.
I have tinnitus. Q.E.D. :-)
Luckily, mine is related to head movement. Turning my head from
left to right produces a loud chirping in my left ear. The
loudness is directoly proportional to the speed of the turn. Most
of the time (almost ALL of the time) I can completely ignore it.
Rudy Vener uucp: att!mtqua!rudy internet: rudy@mtqua.att.com
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Subject: Re: A NEW CANE
Written by: rudy@cbnewsj.ATT.COM (Avram r Vener)
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories
In article <9961@bunker.UUCP> Vixen.*@f11.n203.z1.fidonet.org writes:
>Index Number: 6575
>
>
>The only thing is, I do miss not being able to fold it up and getting
>it the heck out of my way! It seems like there are so many places where
>I feel like I shouldn't just lay it on the floor, like in school or
>something, because someone might trip over it or slip on it! My NFB
>friends say that I shouldn't even think about it and that sighted
>people should just watch out for it on their own.
>
Hi Vixen:
Whoever told you that is full of boloney and extremely rude. You
are quite correct. There ARE some situations where you just
shouldn't leave your cane on the floor. Dim crowded restaurants
leap instantly to mind as prime examples.
I hope the attitude of leaving your cane anywhere you please
regardless of the inconvenience it causes to others is not a
general NFB attitude. Common courtesy, if nothing else should
dictate otherwise.
>I feel like I am infringing upon them. So, I am having difficulty
>dealing with a cane that I can't just fold up and put in my purse, lap
>and et cetera.
There is an easy out. I just bought two canes from (ta dahhhhh)
NFB. One is their fiberglass folding cane. The other is their
telescopic fiberglass cane.
The folding cane is very lightweight. Much lighter than my old
beat up aluminum cane. It folds up in the same manner leaving you
with a bundle of segments. The segments fit together nicely
without sticking too badly but a bit of force IS needed to get it
apart. You may also have to tamp it on the ground after assembling
it to get the segments settled. The top of the cane unscrews and
gives you access to the elastic cord. This is necessary since it
comes with the cord slack and you have to pull it taut and tie a
new knot at end.
The telescopic cane is a beaut. It slises into a single tube about
six inches long. Very space efficient! You open it by pulling
the end out, preferably with a certain amount of elan. and
collapse it by resting the tip one a conference table and shoving
the top down with zesty pizzaz (that got me a round of applause the
first time I brought it to a meeting). The one problem with the
telescopic cane is that it can and does occasionally partially
collapse when you walk outside and the end strickes something with
sufficient force to break the friction holding one of the segments
at full extension.
I prefer the folding cane for outdoor use and the telescopic for
when I walk around my office building. If I could only have ONE
cane it would be the fiberglass folding since the accidental
collapsing of the telescopic cane would outweight the benefits of
its smaller closed size.
Both cnaes use the NFB tip. I bought both canes and ten tips for
$30.00 from the NFB mail order catalog.
Keep on keeping the faith.
Rudy Vener uucp:att!mtqua!rudy internet: rudy@mtqua.att.com
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Subject: Re: classroom groupings
Written by: era@niwot.scd.ucar.edu (Ed Arnold)
Organization: Scientific Computing Division/NCAR, Boulder, CO
In article <10015@bunker.UUCP> OAKRIDGE@BYUVM.BITNET (Kevin Morris) writes:
|Index Number: 6614
|
|We are a school which serves students with multiple handicaps. We
|are interest ed in any thoughts or experience you might have
|regarding the appropriate crite ria for the grouping of students so
|that education is most efficient. We are particularly interested
|in your experience in grouping students according to chronological
|age versus grouping them according to developmental ability.
You can't mainstream/integrate if you group students strictly according
to developmental ability; it's not done that way in what I consider
progressive school districts. If you're confining handicapped students
to their own school without exposure to non-disabled students, then it's
clear your school district needs new leadership.
BTW - this post is NOT meant to be a flame. If you do have a segregated
district, however, please e-mail me; I'd be more than happy to put you
in touch with people who are working to change the next generation's
view of disabled persons, thru progressive school environments.
--
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Ed Arnold * era@ncar.ucar.edu * era@ncario [bitnet] * ...!ncar!era [uucp]
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Subject: Re: Should I try to teach?
Written by: era@niwot.scd.ucar.edu (Ed Arnold)
Organization: Scientific Computing Division/NCAR, Boulder, CO
In article <10009@bunker.UUCP> ncas@cbnewsj.ATT.COM (Clifford A. Stevens, Jr)
writes:
>Index Number: 6608
>
>OK, I have a q for the net.gurus. I'm thinking of trying teaching
>(My original career choice was to be a high school physics teacher),
>but one of my docters told me that children were really bothered by
>a handicap. So it'd be a mistake to try to be a handicapped teacher.
>But I've heard from other sources that kids can be very protective,
>in such cases! So what are your opinions?
Many of the kids in my daughter's class in the local elementary
are very accepting, in spite of the fact she's non-verbal and
doesn't walk, situp, etc. In fact, she was invited to a birthday
party today, where all 15 of the other little girls present were
ABLEd.
Offhand, I'd say your doctor is the one who is handicapped;
he has a very serious attitudinal handicap, and that would cause
me to vigorously question just how good a doctor he is.
--
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Ed Arnold * era@ncar.ucar.edu * era@ncario [bitnet] * ...!ncar!era [uucp]
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End of Issue # 1090 of the Handicap Digest
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