According to NFB numbers, there are 1.5 blind people and about 10 million low vision in the US. With a total population of over 300 million, we are an absolutely tiny fraction of the population.
cdh On Nov 30, 2009, at 3:50 PM, carlene knight wrote: > Unfortunately you have to be realistic though. I agree with you in a sense, > but going into a store and buying JAWS or Window Eyes off of the shelf? That > would be nice? that's one reason I like the Mac and accessories. The people > in the Mac and Apple stores will likely not be trained for extensive use with > Vo, but they should be able to make sure it works. Try going into a Best Buy > and asking them if JFW works. We probably make up less than 10% of the > population so it isn't going to happen. It would still be expensive, and > that's why I needed the agency to buy it for me. Again don't get me wrong, > in a perfect world that might happen, but we all know the world is far from > perfect. I'm not trying to defend anybody necessarily, and I don't consider > myself dependent because I need assistance from them. I got my own jobs, > take care of myself, go where I need to go etc. A good organization helps > people become independent. I agree that whenever possible, we should do for > ourselves and not be too dependent on anybody, agencies included. > > On Nov 30, 2009, at 12:23 PM, Richie Gardenhire wrote: > >> And for this reason, I feel that many state agencies, (Alaska's, being >> one of them)will be cutting back services, in favor of other things >> and as Mark so eloquently pointed out, the elderly, the poor, and the >> disabled, will be hurt first. I know thisis a different subject line >> from what was originally intended, and I apologize for that, but I >> will say one more thing on this, and that is that I'm in favor of >> universal design so that blind people can walk into any store and >> purchase off-the-shelf software and get it working and we not be >> forced to be co-dependent on state agencies to purchase our stuff. I >> guess, in a way, I'm against state agencies for the reasons I stated >> above. Richie Gardenhire, Anchorage, Alaska. >> >> >> On Nov 30, 2009, at 10:32 AM, carlene knight wrote: >> >> Hi Mark: >> >> I certainly don't hold a grudge as everybody is entitled to their >> opinion. However, if it weren't for the Commission for the blind here >> in Oregon, there is no way that I could perform the job I was hired >> for. I had to have a programmer write JAWS scripts so that I could >> get to the buttons, read the drop down boxes that just had graphics >> for names, etc. I couldn't have afforded the thousands of dollars that >> has costed. He is working as we speak since the company I work for >> has changed software and everything we had done in the past regarding >> the original software is now null and void. I could have not afforded >> a Braille display at about 12,000 dollars. I can say with certainty >> that there are few if any companies that would provide any of these >> services. Unfortunately many government funded agencies, including >> the Oregon Commission for the blind do know little about Mac >> accessibility as they have contracts with certain vendors, and, face >> it,whether we like it or not, a majority of companies still use >> Windows based software. My husband and I both decided on our own to >> try the Mac, and though I've had some problems, I'm glad I did. I've >> learned it without an instructor. We nearly lost our Commission last >> summer so when I hear people talking about how we shouldn't have >> government agencies such as this, I have to disagree though they do >> have their problems. Yes, some people do rely on others to much, but >> not all of us do. Like you, I grew up in the public school system in >> a rural area. I was born blind also. I'll get off my soap box now. >> >> On Nov 30, 2009, at 10:51 AM, Mark BurningHawk Baxter wrote: >> >>> You, and I to a lesser extent, and others are the exception. I was >>> born blind, didn't go to any institutions for the blind, was raised as >>> an only child, mostly in rural Vermont with minimal help from state >>> agencies. Graduated from Dartmouth when I was 20, again with minimal >>> if any help from agencies--didn't have my first experience with any >>> agencies or institutions for the blind until I was 24, when the >>> Carroll Center was offering a medical transcription course and I >>> needed another, safer place to be. They kicked me out of their dorm, >>> making me homeless, after six weeks there. Rehab flatly refused to >>> support me and my music career in any way, and pressured me to go to >>> the Carroll Center in the first place, then pressured me to get >>> therapy and reform my ways when they made me homeless. I only started >>> cautiously learning how to deal with the agencies in 2007, when it >>> became clear that my failing hearing was going to force me out of the >>> transcription career I'd had for 13+ years. I learned Jaws and >>> Windows essentially by myself, as I've always been good with tech. >>> Even now, while I may have learned a little about how to get along >>> with the agencies and get what I need, it's a very uneasy truce at >>> best./ I hope to be starting a job at another institution for the >>> blind soon, but this time as a trainer, not a student, which hopefully >>> will turn out better. You can see why I advocate for the abolition of >>> such systems. They do not foster independence of thinking, and tend >>> to punish outside-the-box people, in my experience. I do realize that >>> people blinded later in life may not adapt as fully as those born >>> blind; I'm learning that as I lose my hearing, so I have the privilege >>> of seeing both sides of the coin, but think about what that implies-- >>> that the pressure on those whose world has already been blasted by >>> losing their sight will essentially become putty in the hands of high- >>> pressure agencies who are set in their ways. The system seems to >>> punish at both ends--if you're too independent, you're pressured to >>> conform; if you're new to blindness, you're taught not to think for >>> yourself. Hell, I didn't even do mobility orienting stuff until last >>> year, when Rehab here in CA suggested I ry it, and I decided, in the >>> interests of keeping the peace, what the heck; my mobility teacher >>> quickly realized that there was very little, beyond the immediate >>> rehearsing of directions, that she could improve upon what I and my >>> dog were already going. Since I got Trekker, that's even more so; now >>> that Trekker is temporarily broken, I truly feel the loss. :) I don't >>> see how the agencies really have done me any good, other than in the >>> purely material realm, and if I weren't as articulate as I am about >>> stating my needs, and as forceful as I am about what I need, which >>> most people are not, even that gain might be minimal, and even now the >>> damage is significant. So, that's where my beef with the system(s) >>> comes in; sorry if that makes it a personal grudge, but there you are >>> then. >>> >>> >>> Mark BurningHawk Baxter >>> >>> Skype and Twitter: BurningHawk1969 >>> MSN: burninghawk1...@hotmail.com >>> My home page: >>> http://MarkBurningHawk.net/ >>> >>> -- >>> >>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>> Groups "MacVisionaries" group. >>> To post to this group, send email to macvisionar...@googlegroups.com. >>> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to >>> macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com >>> . >>> For more options, visit this group at >>> http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en >>> . >>> >>> >> >> -- >> >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >> Groups "MacVisionaries" group. >> To post to this group, send email to macvisionar...@googlegroups.com. >> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to >> macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com >> . >> For more options, visit this group at >> http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en >> . >> >> >> >> -- >> >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "MacVisionaries" group. >> To post to this group, send email to macvisionar...@googlegroups.com. >> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to >> macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >> For more options, visit this group at >> http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en. >> >> > > -- > > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "MacVisionaries" group. > To post to this group, send email to macvisionar...@googlegroups.com. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en. > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "MacVisionaries" group. 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