Committee Meetings

Your transition team is providing these addresses and web sites for your information and convenience. While we do not necessarily recommend, nor endorse the products and services as described on each site, we hope you find this information of beneficial value.

APH CATALOG OF INSTRUCTIONAL AIDS, TOOLS AND SUPPLIES
189 Frankfort Avenue
PO Box 6085
Louisville KY 40206-0085
800-223-1839

THE LIGHTHOUSE, INC
3620 Northern Boulevard
Long Island City NY 11101
800-829-0500

LS & S GROUP
P.O Box 673
Northbrook IL 60065
800-468-4789

INDEPENDENT LIVING AIDS, INC
200 Robbins Lane
Jericho NY 11753-2341
800-537-2118

FLAGHOUSE
150 No. MacQuesten Parkway
Mt. Vernon NY 10550
800-793-7900
(this company has several catalogs)

PUBLICATIONS SPECIFIC TO BLINDNESS AND CHILDREN

FUTURE REFLECTIONS
Parents of Blind Children National Magazine

NATIONAL ALLIANCE OF BLIND STUDENTS
1155 15 St NW
Ste 1004
Washington DC 20005
800-424-8666

NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND
1800 Johnson Street
Baltimore MD 21230
(click on “publications")

AWARENENSS NEWSLETTER

NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR PARENTS OF THE VISUALLY IMPAIRED, INC
P.O. Box 317
Watertown MA 02272-0317
800-562-6265

VIISA (Vision Impaired InService in America)
Many resources listed for newsletters, books, information
(SKIHI materials also distributed by HOPE, INC

NATIONAL NEWSPATCH (twice yearly newsletter - $5.00 per year)

Oregon School for the Blind
700 Church Street SE
Salem, Oregon 97301-3795
(no website at this time)

BLIND CHILDREN'S FUND
(989) 779-9966
(resources, materials, etc. – also links to other sites)

TOYS, EDUCATIONAL SUPPLIES, BRAILLE BOOKS

SEEDLINGS BRAILLE BOOKS FOR CHILDREN
P.O. Box 51924
Livonia MI 48151-5924
800-777-8552

American Action Fund for Blind Children & Adults
1800 Johnson Street
Baltimore MD 21230
410-659-9315
fax 410-685-5653

NATIONAL BRAILLE PRESS
88 St. Stephen Street
Boston MA 02115
617-266-6160

HEARTHSONG
156 N. Main Street
Sebastopol CA 95472
800-325-2502

LILLY'S TOYBOX
Lillian Vernon Corporation
Virginia Beach VA 23479-0002
800-285-5555

• One-on-one communication (remember signing space – close to your face, perhaps back up).
• Tracking- bringing hands into my signing space.
• Tactile communication (two different ways: one hand and two handed).
• Print on palm or POP.
• Finger spelling- Different methods (Bird method- looks like birds pecking at seeds: Side method or back method- hand over hand).
• Braille.
• Cell markers on the palm of the hand in Braille. (Some people prefer this).
• Tellatouch- used like a TTY with Braille output.
• Morse Code.
• Hearing aids or FM Systems.
• Note taking.
• TTY or computer.
• Tadoma method- hand on the throat and on the lips to understand speech.
• Lip reading.

The Nebraska Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (NCDHH) licenses sign language interpreters statewide to ensure quality communication access for all Nebraskans.

If you are looking to hire an interpreter for your business, organization, or event, it is important to know that Nebraska law requires all paid sign language interpreters to hold a valid license issued by NCDHH. It is the responsibility of the hiring party to verify that an interpreter is properly licensed before services are provided. Hiring an unlicensed interpreter may result in fines or enforcement action.

If you have concerns about a Nebraska-licensed interpreter, NCDHH also accepts formal grievances for review.

To view the current list of licensed interpreters or find interpreters available for direct hire, visit the NCDHH website.

The Nebraska Relay Service allows deaf and hard of hearing people who use a TTY to communicate with hearing telephone users. The NRS communication assistant (CA) or operator relays the information between the two parties. The CA will say what the TTY caller types and types what the hearing caller says. All states now offer statewide telephone relay services. In Nebraska, TTY callers may dial 1-800-833-7352 (TTY) or hearing callers may dial 1-800-833-0920 (VOICE).

VCO – Voice Carry Over.

When making a NRS call a person with a hearing loss and understandable speech may request VCO, allowing him/her to speak directly to the hearing caller. The person with a hearing loss then reads the hearing person’s responses on his/her TTY.

HCO – Hearing Carry Over.

When making a NRS call, a speech-disabled person who can listen may request HCO, allowing him/her to listen directly to the hearing caller. The speech disabled person answers by typing his/her response.

An “individual who is deaf-blind” means any individual having auditory and visual impairments, the combination of which cause extreme difficulty in attaining independence in daily life activities, achieving psychosocial adjustment, or obtaining vocational objectives.

If you believe that you, a relative, or a friend might be eligible for services through the Nebraska Individuals with Deaf-Blindness Project, contact the Nebraska Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired office nearest you.

People who are blind and visually impaired work in almost every career field imaginable. There are blind teachers, lawyers, engineers, biologists, chefs, university professors, retail workers, mechanics, custodians, childcare workers, and small business owners. Other people who are blind and low vision choose to be stay-at-home parents or active homemakers. Regardless of your career or independent living goals, NCBVI can equip you to reach them.

Yes, absolutely! Millions of blind and low vision people across the United States care for children as parents, grandparents, foster parents, and legal guardians. In some families, both parents are blind or visually impaired. In other families, one parent is blind and the other is sighted. Some blind parents are single or divorced. Some older blind adults have custody of their grandchildren or foster children. Regardless of age, blind and low vision people can learn the skills to safely and confidently care for children. Many NCBVI staff members are blind parents themselves. If caring for children is important to you, please mention this to your rehabilitation counselor, orientation counselor, or any other NCBVI staff member and we’ll determine how we can best help you gain the skills you need.

NCBVI does offer financial assistance for college, university, technical, and vocational school students who need education or training in order to reach their employment goals. This may include assistance with tuition, fees, books, technology, and reader services. In order to qualify for financial assistance, students will need to contact our vocational rehabilitation program. They will be assigned a vocational rehabilitation counselor who will discuss the client’s career goals in order to determine what education and training NCBVI can provide.

NCBVI does not provide eyeglasses. However, your local chapter of the Lions Club may offer financial assistance for eye care and eyeglasses for preventable blindness. The Lions Club also takes donations of old eyeglasses. Contact your local Lions Club for details.

As of this writing, Apple's iOS, which runs on its iPads, iPhones, and iPods has the most robust accessibility features for people who are blind or low vision. iOS includes a built-in screen reader called VoiceOver which reads screen contents aloud and allows a person to interact with the phone through gestures on the touch screen. VoiceOver works with all of the apps and functions that come with the device and also with a majority of the apps that can be downloaded from the Apple AppStore. iOS devices also offer a built-in screen magnification program called Zooms. There are also many ways to personalize the font size, color, brightness, and other features which can make the screen easier to see.

There are a variety of other cell phones that offer accessibility features. Learn more at the following links:

AT&T: http://www.wireless.att.com/learn/articles-resources/disability-resources/disability-resources.jsp  1-866-241-6568

Sprint: http://www.sprint.com/landings/accessibility/ 

Verizon Wireless: http://www.verizonwireless.com/aboutus/commitment/accessibility.html