Leaders and Legends: Helen Adams Keller

Helen Adams Keller
Inducted 2002
Hall of Fame for Leaders and Legends of the Blindness Field

Helen Keller was born in Alabama in 1880. At the age of 18 months she experienced a fever that left her deaf, blind and unable to speak. An extremely intelligent and sensitive child, by the age of seven she had invented over 60 different signs by which she could talk to her family. Because of this restricted communication her frustration and anger grew and were not relieved until Annie Sullivan, a 20 year old graduate of the Perkins School for the Blind, came to be her teacher. With her help Helen learned the manual alphabet, braille, the Tadoma method of reading lips and later learned to speak. With Annie as her interpreter, in 1888 she attended Perkins Institute for the Blind and in 1894 the Wright-Humason School for the Deaf in New York. She received a B.A. cum laude in 1904 from Radcliffe College. She thus became the first deaf-blind person to graduate from college. In 1936 she moved to Connecticut where she lived until her death in 1968 at the age of 87.

While at Radcliffe, Helen Keller began a writing career which was to continue for 50 years. In addition to The Story of My Life, she wrote 11 other books and numerous articles on blindness, deafness, social issues and women's rights. Many books and plays were written about her life.

Despite the broad range of her interests, Helen Keller never lost sight of the needs of others who were blind and deaf-blind. Soon after the American Foundation for the Blind was established in 1921 she became a member of the Foundation staff, where she worked until her death in 1968 as counselor on national relations. In 1932 she also became a vice-president of the Royal National Institute for the Blind in the United Kingdom. In 1946 she was appointed counselor on international relations for the American Foundation for Overseas Blind (renamed Helen Keller International), visiting 35 countries during seven trips between 1946 and 1957.

Helen Keller received honorary doctoral degrees from Temple University, Harvard, Universities of Glasgow, Berlin, Delhi and Johannesburg. An entire room at AFB is devoted to a collection of her personal papers and memorabilia, including Brazil's Order of the Southern Cross, Japan's Sacred Treasure, the Lions Humanitarian Award for lifetime service and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1964. In 1965 she was one of the 20 elected to the Women's Hall of Fame at the New York World's Fair.

More rewarding to Helen Keller than the many honors she received, were the acquaintances and friendships she made with most of the leading personalities of her time. There were few world figures, from Grover Cleveland to Charlie Chaplin, to Nehru to John F. Kennedy, that she did not meet. She was truly a remarkable world ambassador and a distinguished leader advocating for better services for blind and deaf-blind wherever she went.

Plaque sponsored by the American Foundation for the Blind and Perkins School for the Blind

Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan (1930 Newsreel Footage)

About the Hall of Fame

The Hall of Fame for Leaders and Legends of the Blindness Field is dedicated to preserving, honoring, and promoting the tradition of excellence manifested by the specific individuals inducted into the Hall of Fame and through the history of outstanding services provided to people who are blind or visually impaired.

These significant professional colleagues of the recent and distant past are a fascinating cross-section of heroes and pioneers who not only shaped our rich history, philosophy, knowledge and skills, but also give us insights into current and future challenges. These giants shared their personal lives and showed us strategies to ensure that services for blind persons remain unique and specialized. Enjoy their lives and contributions and reflect upon your own list of heroes.

Hall of Fame: Leaders and Legends of the Blindness Field is a project of the entire field of blindness. It is curated by the American Printing House for the Blind, a 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization.

Visit the virtual Hall of Fame for the inspiring stories of many more heroes of the field of blindness.

Giggling Elmo Hot Tomato Game

It's the 40th anniversary of Sesame Street. In this game, Elmo appears as a plush tomato that begins giggling when the child pushes its nose. Children from 3 years and up will also giggle as they pass the tomato back and forth as quickly as possible so they are not the one holding Elmo when he stops giggling. To add to the fun, 20 cards are included with letters, colors or categories on them to guide the players to calling out an item associated with the card and then passing Elmo on quickly so as not to be caught with him when he stops giggling. Elmo measures about 5 x 5" x 3.5" and uses 2 "AA" batteries that are included.

Click this link to purchase the Giggling Elmo Hot Tomato Game from independent living aids.

APH News: November 2009

APH News

Your monthly link to the latest information on the products, services, and training opportunities from the American Printing House for the Blind.

November 2009

Exciting New APH Products Announced!

Read on to learn about these new products - now available!

• APH Fall Harvest Sale
• Wilson Reading System Large Print Kit
• History in the Making: The Story of the American Printing House for the Blind: 1858-2008, Braille Edition
• HANDS ON Kit and Black Large Work-Play Tray Again Available
• APH Braille Book Corner

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APH's 141st Annual Meeting, "Keys to Success," Shares Values!

At the Annual Meeting this year, we witnessed the "Keys to Success" in action. The six core values that guide Muhammad Ali's life touch us all.

Confidence, Conviction, Dedication, Giving, Respect, Spirituality

The Ali Center was the perfect venue to begin our days together. Tuck Tinsley set the perfect tone for the meeting and then introduced Carl Augusto who inspired the "standing room only" crowd with his powerful personal and professional journey. Samir Azer touched us with his remarks upon receiving the Zickel Award for Product Development and Phil Hatlen challenged and encouraged us as he accepted APH's highest honor, the Wings of Freedom.

It was a rich few days, filled with product demonstrators, Trustee facilitators, Advisory Committee Recommenders, Hall of Famers, University Researchers, interactive participators, related meeting attenders, and even a student YouTube product tutor; all of whom were warmly received as they reminded us of those core values. It was a very powerful and affirming Annual Meeting indeed!

Here are additional memories of our very special celebration. (Click on additional memories for an Annual Meeting photo album.)

Attendees, if you completed an evaluation form while in Louisville we thank you very much for your input. If you did not, you still have an opportunity to help us by taking a couple of minutes to complete and submit the electronic version.

We thank you for your good counsel.

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National Prison Braille Network Gathers at 9th Annual Prison Braille Forum

On October 13th, APH Public Affairs staff hosted the first day-long Prison Braille Forum since this annual gathering began in 2000 as a half-day meeting. Held in conjunction with the APH Annual Meeting, this Forum welcomed 40 vision and corrections professionals from 15 states. The two oldest programs (Michigan Braille Transcribing Fund and Volunteers of Vacaville, California) were represented--each having over 45 years of experience producing braille. The "most recently established" program hasn't actually been launched yet--vision and corrections professionals from North Carolina who are preparing to open a braille production facility came to the Forum to learn from the "pros" as they select a prison and design a program.

Jane Thompson, Director of the APH Accessible Textbooks Department, reported that during the last fiscal year APH in-house and contract transcribers produced 120 textbooks in braille--30 of which were produced in prison braille programs. She indicated that the percentage of braille textbooks produced in prisons grows each year, and will probably hit the 50% mark in the near future.

During the Forum, two critical issues that most prison braille programs continue to face were discussed: a lack of professional training opportunities for transcribers in prisons to learn and advance transcription skills, and the inability of qualified transcribers leaving prison to continue transcribing braille as a career on the outside--primarily because they lack financial resources.

In response to these needs, APH reported the initiation of a new program called Building Bridges with Braille. Through this program, which APH will implement in partnership with the National Braille Association (NBA), professional transcribers on the outside will be hired to provide training in prisons across the country, and individuals in prisons who are highly qualified braille transcribers will be mentored and assisted with the purchase of equipment and supplies as they transition back into society and build careers as transcribers. Building Bridges with Braille will be implemented as soon as funds for the initiative have been secured.

There are currently 35 prison braille programs operating across the U.S., with over 800 men and women producing braille. Current data for each program was gathered and published recently by APH in the 2009 edition of the Directory of Prison Braille Programs.

Another publication, Guidelines for Starting and Operating Prison Braille Programs, was completed recently in response to continual requests for advice on establishing and managing braille production facilities in correctional settings. Both of these publications are available at APH, free of charge. To order copies, contact Rebecca Snider at rsnider@aph.org. The National Prison Braille Network will launch a new website in early 2010. These documents and many more will be available for download via this webpage.

The National Prison Braille Network is coordinated by Nancy Lacewell, APH Director of Government and Community Affairs. For more information on prison braille programs, the annual Forum, or the National Prison Braille Network, contact Nancy by email at nlacewell@aph.org or at telephone extension 339.

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Migel Library Transition

As our regular readers know, the American Foundation for the Blind transferred its Migel Memorial Library to APH in August. We are going through the more than 40,000 volumes now, and enjoying every discovery. Although the collection will not be available to the public until next summer, we'll be sharing a few highlights as we work our way towards the opening. This month, we are looking at the oldest item we have found so far, a 16 page pamphlet from 1834. Although the New England Institution for the Education of the Blind was founded in 1829, it did not start classes until 1832, or publish its first report until 1834. By this time, the brilliant Samuel Gridley Howe had assumed leadership of the nation's first school for blind children. It would not operate under its more familiar name, the Perkins Institution, until the 1840s. Check out the APH newsletter each month for more revelations about the Migel Library. You can contact Julia Myers (jmyers@aph.org) and Mike Hudson (mhudson@aph.org) for more information.

We welcome Constance Ard as the new librarian for the APH AFB Migel Library. Constance is Chair of the Kentucky Virtual Library Advisory Council (KYVLAC). Her background includes research, information management consultancy, and digitization project management. Constance will be working to make the Migel Library accessible to those visiting APH and will be developing a plan to make web-based access to the collection easier.

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Tactile Stickers Galore! Do You Want More?

In recent months, APH has received teacher requests for additional tactile stickers similar to those available in the existing Feel n' Peel Sticker packages. Current packages include braille alphabet stickers, literary braille number stickers, point symbol stickers, reward statement stickers, smiley face stickers, tactile stars, and color name stickers. Assorted packages are available. If you would like to see additional types of stickers produced by APH, please send Karen Poppe an email describing the types of stickers that you feel are still needed. Send all ideas to kpoppe@aph.org Thank you.

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Look for APH at the 9th Biennial Getting in Touch with Literacy Conference in California

Are you heading west for the November 12-15 literacy conference? I understand registration is still open and reasonable rooms are still available! For more information, visit: http://www.gettingintouchwithliteracy.com/

APH is a proud sponsor of this event, co-founded by our own Janie Blome, along with Cay Holbrook. While at the conference, we hope you'll stop by our booth and say hello. We'll be showing many of our products, including the FVLMA, Word Playhouse, Braille+, Querty Docking Station, Refreshabraille 18, the All-In-One Board, and many others!

Hope to see you there!

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Reaching For the Stars In South Carolina

A lucky group of service coordinators, family members and others were on hand to "Reach for the Stars" in Columbia, South Carolina October 23-24, when APH hosted a National Instructional Partnerships (NIP) event in partnership with EOT Elizabeth McKown, Director of Outreach Vision Services for the South Carolina School for the Deaf and the Blind. Diane Haines, author of the APH product Reach for the Stars, was on hand to provide training in the use of maps to gather information about children that can be useful in the development of IFSPs and IEPs for children. Friday's sessions with the professionals provided an opportunity for attendees to learn how to guide families through the mapping process and Saturday's session for families provided hands-on opportunities for families to use the materials and to share with each other. Thanks again to the 11 wonderful families who gave up their Saturday to be with us and to provide such amazing support for each other!

National Instructional Partnerships (NIP) events are designed to highlight the use of APH products across the areas of the core curriculum and the expanded core curriculum. If you are interested in hosting such an event in your area, please contact Janie Blome, jblome@aph.org, or call 800-223-1839, ext. 367.

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Guidelines Needed: Appropriate Assessment of English Language Learners

Some years ago, Dr. Carol Allman, a consultant for Accessible Tests, drafted a document for APH titled Making Tests Accessible for Students with Visual Impairments: A Guide for Test Publishers, Test Developers, and State Assessment Personnel. This document has been and continues to be extremely valuable as a training tool. Since the original document was released, it has been revised and updated to include information and guidelines regarding alternate assessments, uses of color for signage, graphics, text, tests and Power Point presentations, position papers on use of extended time and accommodations, and more. During this fiscal year, Accessible Tests staff has a goal of adding information and guidelines regarding appropriate assessment of English language learners who are also blind or visually impaired. If you would be interested in drafting some guidelines for inclusion in the fifth edition of Making Tests Accessible, please contact Debbie Willis at dwillis@aph.org or call 502/899-2311 or 800/223-1839, ext. 311.

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Louis! More than a quarter million accessible books and still growing!

The Louis Database now contains information on approximately 250,324 titles in accessible formats, including braille, large print, sound recording and electronic files. Louis is still growing!

More changes are in store for Louis, so check Louis frequently for additional new books and for exciting new changes at http://Louis.aph.org

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NIMAC Exceeds 19,000 Files!

The National Instructional Materials Access Center now holds more than 19,125 NIMAS files available for conversion into accessible instructional materials! Most important, nearly 3,000 of these NIMAS files have been downloaded to be transformed into accessible textbooks!

For more information on NIMAC go to http://www.nimac.us

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Hall of Fame for Blindness Field Defines Its Space

New exhibits in the Hall of Fame provide the definition needed to explain the mission of the venue as well as those honored there.

A great new entry foyer display includes a huge logo and panels explaining the Hall, the mission, and how to nominate. In the Hall, in addition to kiosks with bas relief plaques of all inductees and an artifacts case, you will now see an Inductee Wall with pictures and information on each honoree. Across the Hall is the Wall of Tribute, now with a bold header, which holds 150 stones in its wooden columns, along with a panel that explains how you can honor someone special in your life with a beautifully etched stone. If you choose to come by elevator, a welcoming sign will greet you as you disembark. Come to APH and celebrate your Hall of Fame and those you have honored there!

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2009 Hall of Fame Induction

Bas Relief Plaques of the 2009 Hall of Fame for Leaders and Legends of the Blindness Field Inductees, Euclid Herie and Dean Tuttle, are now installed in the Hall of Fame.

Soon the 2009 Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, beautifully hosted by Jane Erin, will appear on the website as well.

Biographies of these legends can be found on the Hall of Fame website. Dr. Erin's induction remarks are also posted on the biography sites.

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APHers Walk for a Good Cause in Georgia

October was Breast Cancer Awareness Month and two APH employees decided to take steps (a lot of steps) to help that cause. Malcolm and Monica Turner participated in their second Breast Cancer 3-Day Walk in Atlanta, GA on October 23-25, walking 60 miles in 3 days. Together they raised over $4700 to benefit Susan G. Komen for the Cure and the National Philanthropic Trust Breast Cancer Fund. Over 2200 people participated in the walk, raising a total of over $5.6 million dollars.

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APH InSights 2009 Award winners

We are pleased to announce the names of the winners in this year's competition. From the 323 entries, the three judges selected eighty-three works for display in the exhibit at the annual meeting. From these "show pieces," first, second, and third awards were selected in each of the nine categories and another few works were singled out for honorable mention. Many of the entrants entered through their schools or agencies; several of the adult artists have their own studios and work independently. We know there are lots of other aspiring artists out there who want to enter next year. The deadlines are April 1 for students, and April 15 for adults. Rules and entry forms will be posted on the website by late February, Contact Roberta Williams rwilliams@aph.org

Thanks to everyone who entered for making this a great competition. Congratulations to those whose work was selected for the display and to these award winners: for more information.

• Alvin Toledo from St. Lucy Day School for Children with Visual Impairments, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, First Place in the category for Preschool/Kindergarten
• Daniella Fraioli from Parsons Elementary School, Harrison, New York, Second Place in the category for Preschool/Kindergarten
• Bianca McEvoy from Theodore Roosevelt Elementary School, Oyster Bay, New York, Third Place in the category for Preschool/Kindergarten
• Edward Majeski from Saint Lucy Day School for Children with Visual Impairments, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, First Place in the category for First, Second, Third Grades
• Brooke Lehrer from Electa Quinney Elementary, Kaukauna, Wisconsin, Second Place in the category for First, Second, Third Grades
• Brittney Crespo from Saint Lucy Day School for Children with Visual Impairments, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Third Place in the category for First, Second, Third Grades
• Isabel Perry from St. Mary Magdalene School, Apex, North Carolina, First Place in the category for Fourth, Fifth, Sixth Grades
• Elizabeth Romero from Stellar Elementary School, Thornton, Colorado, Second Place in the category for Fourth, Fifth, Sixth Grades
• Erick Rosso from New York Institute for Special Education, Bronx, New York, Third Place in the category for Fourth, Fifth, Sixth Grades
• John Evans from Ardsley Middle School, Ardsley, New York, First Place in the category for Seventh, Eighth, Ninth Grades
• Anthony Ferraro from HW Mountz School, Spring Lake, New Jersey, Spring Lake, New Jersey, won Second Place in the category for Seventh, Eighth, Ninth Grades
• Taylor Flood from Vermont Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired, Montpelier, Vermont, Third Place in the category for Seventh, Eighth, Ninth Grades
• Heather Morrison from Saint Lucy Day School for Children with Visual Impairments, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Honorable Mention in the category for Seventh, Eighth, Ninth Grades
• Dustin Rish from Cedar Springs Middle School, Cedar Springs Michigan, Honorable Mention in the category for Seventh, Eighth, Ninth Grades
• Kyle Street from Indiana School for the Blind and Visually Impaired, Indianapolis, Indiana, Honorable Mention in the category for Seventh, Eighth, Ninth Grades
• Nick Vanderwall from Mason County Central High, Scottville, Michigan, First Place in the category for Tenth, Eleventh, Twelfth Grades
• Hannah Wedel from Halstead High School, Halstead, Kansas, Second Place in the category for Tenth, Eleventh, Twelfth Grades
• John Anderson from Overbrook School for the Blind, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Third Place in the category for Tenth, Eleventh, Twelfth Grades
• Remington Howell from Governor Morehead School for the Blind, Raleigh, North Carolina, Honorable Mention in the category for Tenth, Eleventh, Twelfth Grades
• Brittany Montgomery from Indiana School for the Blind and Visually Impaired, Indianapolis, Indiana, Honorable Mention in the category for Tenth, Eleventh, Twelfth Grades
• Zane Rimpler from Indiana School for the Blind and Visually Impaired, Indianapolis, Indiana, Honorable Mention in the category for Tenth, Eleventh, Twelfth Grades
• Jacob Lynch from Indiana School for the Blind and Visually Impaired, Indianapolis, Indiana, First Place in the category for Ungraded
• A group of six students from Lavelle School for the Blind, Bronx, New York, Second Place in the category for Ungraded
• Catherine Campbell from Sullivan County BOCES, Liberty, New York, Third Place in the category for Ungraded
• Joelle Philippo from Lavelle School for the Blind, Bronx, New York Honorable Mention in the category for Ungraded
• Lawrence Lancaster, an independent artist from Los Angeles, California, First Place in the category for Craft
• Nancy Blizzard from Clovernook Center, Cincinnati, Ohio, Second Place in the category for Craft
• Shirley Blackmore from Clovernook Center, Cincinnati, Ohio, Third Place in the category for Craft
• Chapelle Letman an independent artist from Cleveland, Ohio, First Place in the category for Sculpture
• Mari Newman, an independent artist from Minneapolis, Minnesota, Second Place in the category for Sculpture
• Terry Strader from Clovernook Center, Cincinnati, Ohio, Third Place in the category for Sculpture
• Russell Schermer an independent artist from Chico, California, Honorable Mention in the category for Sculpture
• Margie Stocker from Clovernook Center, Cincinnati, Ohio, Honorable Mention in the category for Sculpture
• David Kontra an independent artist from Norwood, Missouri, First Place in the category for Two-Dimensional Art
• Frank Valliere an independent artist from Gorham, Maine, Second Place in the category for Two-Dimensional Art
• Michael Williams an independent artist from Memphis, Tennessee, won Third Place in the category for Two-Dimensional Art
• Keith Field from an independent artist from Seattle, Washington, Honorable Mention in the category for Two-Dimensional Art
• Tim O'Brien from an independent artist from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, Honorable Mention in the category for Two-Dimensional Art

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APH Welcomes New Ex Officio Trustees

Karen Ross, the Carroll Center for the Blind, replacing Rachel Rosenbaum.

Brent Pitt, the Texas Education Agency, replacing Dottie Goodman.

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APH Travel Calendar

November

November 4-5, 2009
NIP Event--FVLMA with LaRhea Sanford;
UT

November 5, 2009
NFB of Colorado Resource Fair;
Denver, CO

November 6, 2009
AER Ohio--Pulling Together 2009 Statewide Business Meeting;
Worthington, OH

November 6-7, 2009
Kentucky Council for the Blind Event 2009;
KSB in Louisville, KY

November 12-14, 2009
MACRT-ASERT;
Milwaukee, WI

November 12-15, 2009
Getting In Touch With Literacy Conference 2009;
Costa Mesa, CA

November 18-20, 2009
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) 2009;
Nashville, TN

November 22-24, 2009
Kentucky Council for Exceptional Children/Exceptional Children's Conference;
Louisville, KY

December

December 3, 2009
North Carolina Assistive Technology Expo;
North Raleigh, NC

December 4-5, 2009
NIP Event--Administering/Scoring the WJ III for Braille Readers;
Phoenix, AZ

January

January 27-30, 2010
ATIA 2010;
Orlando, FL

February

February 24-26, 2009
Celebrating Connections;
Charleston, WV

February 24-27, 2009
89th Annual EDA Convention (Eastern District Association of the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance or AAHPERD);
Rye, NY

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Help Wanted!

Want to live in beautiful Louisville, Kentucky and work with the best people in the world? Check out the following links to a couple of exciting APH job opportunities.

Research Department
Model & Pattern Maker II

Communications Department
Website Associate

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Fall Harvest Sale

Load up a world of savings on selected APH products with APH's Fall Harvest Sale 2009, October 1 - December 31. As always, first come, first served. www.aph.org/products/harvest.html

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NEW! Wilson Reading System Large Print Kit

Student Reader One and Workbooks 1A and 1B: 8-79501-SK1 -- $30.00
Student Reader Two and Workbooks 2A and 2B: 8-79501-SK2 -- $30.00
Student Reader Three and Workbooks 3A and 3B: 8-79501-SK3 -- $30.00

Replacement Items

• Student Reader One: 8-79502-00 -- $10.00
  • Student Workbook 1A: 8-79502-WA -- $7.25
  • Student Workbook 1B: 8-79502-WB -- $6.50
• Student Reader Two: 8-79503-00 -- $10.00
  • Student Workbook 2A: 8-79503-WA -- $7.25
  • Student Workbook 2B: 8-79503-WB -- $6.50
• Student Reader Three: 8-79504-00 -- $10.00
  • Student Workbook 3A: 8-79504-WA -- $7.25
  • Student Workbook 3B: 8-79504-WB -- $6.50

Related Products--Wilson Reading System Braille Readers

• Student Reader One: 6-79502-00 -- $17.00
• Student Reader Two: 6-79503-00 -- $17.00
• Student Reader Three: 6-79504-00 -- $17.00

The Wilson Reading System® is a complete curriculum for teaching decoding and encoding (spelling), beginning with phoneme segmentation. Unlike other programs that overwhelm the student with rules, the language system of English is presented in a systematic and cumulative manner so that it is manageable. WRS provides an organized, sequential system with extensive controlled text to help teachers implement a multi-sensory structured language program.

This System specifically addresses the learning style of students with a language-based learning disability; however, it is beneficial to any student lacking basic reading and spelling skills.

The Wilson Reading System is authored by Barbara A. Wilson and published by Wilson Language Training Corporation. Permission has been granted to APH to publish the braille and large print versions. For more information and professional development opportunities on the use of the program, please visit: http://www.wilsonlanguage.com

Wilson Reading System is a registered trademark of Wilson Language Training Corporation. Wilson Language Training Corporation has given APH permission to publish braille and large print editions of the Wilson Reading System in an effort to help serve the blind and visually impaired community.

Recommended grades: 2 and up.

Note: Braille Workbooks, Print/Braille Word Cards, Syllable Cards, Sound Cards, and Magnetic Tiles will be available in the future.

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History in the Making: The Story of the American Printing House for the Blind: 1858-2008

New! Braille Edition: W-HIST-APH-BRL -- $39.95
Regular Print Edition: W-HISTORY-APH -- $39.95

Not available with Quota funds.

This beautiful history book by former APH Museum director Carol Tobe was commissioned to celebrate the company's 150th anniversary in 2008. This keepsake book is offered in regular print and in braille:

• Regular Print Edition: Packed with rare details about the origins of APH, this book features rich photography, reproductions of tactile pages embossed from vintage printing plates, and an accessible audio book version on CD read by APH narrator Jack Fox. This 180-page hardbound book was designed by nationally known graphic artist Julius Friedman and features color photography by Geoffrey Carr.
• Braille Edition: Two hardbound braille volumes with color covers contain the text of the regular print edition, including the pages embossed from vintage APH printing plates. Pages are bound with metal rings and a cloth page marking strip is bound into each volume. The CD containing the audio book version, narrated by Jack Fox, is included.

Additional Shipping Charge

All shipments will incur actual UPS shipping rates based on the destination.

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HANDS ON Kit and Black Large Work-Play Tray Again Available

Two more APH products have, like the phoenix, risen from the ashes of our vendor fire! These products are again available for order:

HANDS ON Kit: Functional Activities for Visually Impaired Preschoolers

1-03260-00 -- $235.00

Helps children develop skills such as concentration, hand and visual coordination, ability to complete a cycle of activity, and socialization skills. Also helps develop a sense of order and a positive self-image.

Includes a guidebook and six specially designed plastic work trays. The guidebook details numerous activities using the trays and commonly available materials. The work progresses from jobs such as pouring beans to more complicated tasks such as preparing snacks.

Recommended Ages: 3 to 6

Work-Play Tray: Large Black

1-03761-00 -- $21.00

Durable trays hold objects that might roll out of reach. Trays provide enclosed work space for sorting, matching, classifying, counting. The Large Work-Play Tray measures 21.25 x 13.25 inches. Small Work-Play Trays are also available. The large yellow tray will be available in the future.

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APH offers a number of recreational books in braille (Quota funds can be used). Each of these titles was originally transcribed and produced by APH for the National Library Service which has graciously granted permission for this offering. As usual, these titles have been added to the APH Louis Database where you can find thousands of titles produced in accessible formats.

Note: all books are produced upon receipt of orders, therefore, please allow approximately 8 weeks for delivery.

Leonardo's Horse
by Jean Fritz: T-N1754-70 -- $9.00
Explains American Charles Dent's efforts to complete the unrealized dream of Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) to cast a twenty-four-foot statue of a horse in bronze. Discusses the difficulties Leonardo faced five hundred years ago and Dent's use of modern casting and reinforcing techniques. Nonfiction, Grades 3-6. *(AR Quiz #54098, BL 4.6, Pts. 0.5)

Digging to America
by Anne Tyler: T-N1658-30 -- $75.50
A chance encounter between two families, the Donaldsons and the Iranian-born Yasdans, at the Baltimore airport prompts an examination about what it means to be an American. The American Donaldsons and the Iranian American Yazdans--meet at the airport when their adopted daughters arrive from Korea. Yazdan matriarch Maryam, who emigrated from Iran, feels increasingly alienated as she observes the younger generations' interactions during their annual arrival-day anniversaries. Fiction, Upper Grades. *(AR Quiz #107849, BL 5.8, Pts. 13.0)

Make It Now, Bake It Later!
by Ann and Scott Goodfellow: T-N1662-50 -- $71.00
Updated version of a 1958 cookbook - offers old favorites and new dishes adapted for modern tastes. Recipes list ingredients needed at the outset and those needed to finish the dish later, ways to store the unfinished dish, and final steps before serving. Includes appetizers, main dishes, and desserts.

Tigers in Red Weather: A Quest for the Last Wild Tigers
by Ruth Padel: T-N1714-30 -- $182.00
British poet describes the plight of tigers as she travels to their habitats in India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Russia, Korea, China, Southeast Asia, and Indonesia. Padel discusses tiger lore and history, the work of scientists and conservators in the field, and the reasons for the near extinction of tigers.

The Book of the Dead: A Pendergast Mystery
by Douglas J. Preston: T-N1665-20 -- $134.50
FBI agent Aloysius Pendergast, from Dance of Death, languishes in prison for murders committed by his psychotic brother, Diogenes. Meanwhile, New York's natural history museum unseals an Egyptian tomb, precipitating more killings. Aloysius escapes to confront his brother in a deadly showdown. Strong language and some violence. Adult Readers.

*Accelerated Reader quiz number, book level, and point value. For more information on the Accelerated Reader program, see the January 2006 APH News or www.renlearn.com/ar/

APH News Credits

President:
Dr. Tuck Tinsley
ttinsley@aph.org

Designer:
Malcolm Turner, APH Website Coordinator
webmaster@aph.org

Thanks to the following APH staff:

• Cindy Amback, Support Specialist, Field Services
• Scott Blome, Director, Communications
• Mike Hudson, Director, APH Museum
• Nancy Lacewell, Director, Government and Community Services
• Stephanie Lancaster, Graphic Designer, Communications
• Julia Myers, Director, Resource Services and NIMAC
• Karen Poppe, Tactile Graphics Project Leader, Research
• Becky Snider, Coordinator, Public Affairs
• Gwynn Stewart, Support Specialist, Communications
• Jane Thompson, Director, Accessible Textbooks
• Monica Turner, Field Services Representative
• Debbie Willis, Director, Accessible Tests

Editor:
Bob Brasher, Vice President, Advisory Services and Research
bbrasher@aph.org

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For additional recent APH News, click the following:
October Issue - www.aph.org/advisory/2009adv10.html
September Issue - www.aph.org/advisory/2009adv09.html
August Issue - www.aph.org/advisory/2009adv08.html

Archive of all previous issues - www.aph.org/advisory/advarch.html

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The APH News is a monthly publication from the American Printing House for the Blind:
1839 Frankfort Avenue
Louisville, KY 40206
800/223-1839

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Use Email to Tweet and Interact with Twitter

How many of your friends are on Twitter? Fred's Head certainly has a lot of people who choose to follow us and we're really excited about that!

There are so many ways to use the Twitter service and quite a few are accessible to those who are blind or visually impaired. Let me share this one that uses email to send and receive tweets from your followers.

Send email messages to tweetymail and it will interact with Twitter on your behalf. For example, send an email to tweet@tweetymail.com to post a tweet, or send an email to latest@tweetymail.com to get the latest tweets from your friends. You can even reply to direct messages or start following somebody by forwarding the email notifications sent by Twitter. tweetymail simply needs to know what email addresses to associate with your Twitter account. When it receives an email from one of your email addresses, it can act on your behalf.

Sometimes it's easier to send an email than to navigate to the Twitter website or launch a Twitter client. tweetymail was created for one such scenario: so that a person could easily tweet links from an iPhone.

Signing up for the service is easy, it connects to your Twitter account and all you need to provide is an email address. It can be used with any email program, Outlook, Outlook Express, Windows Live Mail or any internet-based program.

Click this link to start tweeting with http://tweetymail.com.

Check the Properties with the Keyboard

I love keyboard shortcuts. One can't ever have enough of them. You always look cool when you can tell someone how to do something without using the mouse!

For example, instead of right-clicking and going to “properties” to get the details on a file or folder, try this:

Hit Alt + Enter on a highlighted object to see its Properties, like file size, date created or last modified, and what program is associated with the file. If you must use the mouse, you can hold the Alt key down and double-click the item to see its properties.

Quick Tech Support for Windows 7 on Twitter

Microsoft is leaving no stone unturned in the promotion of Windows 7 and @MicrosoftHelps could be considered a part of that process. While Microsoft has already embraced Twitter like the other big firms and has many Twitter handles, @MicrosoftHelps was launched to provide real time support to Windows 7 users. Microsoft describes it as “the official Twitter account for Microsoft Customer Service.”

Initially it is meant for Windows 7 users and later on it will be expanded to Microsoft’s other business units. It’s certainly a nice initiative by Microsoft to let its customers have another medium, which might become the fastest way to get their Windows 7 issues resolved.

Click this link to start following Microsoft Helps on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/MicrosoftHelps.

Listen to Live Concert Recordings Online

Wolfgang is an amazing rock website that sells numerous rock music related items (vintage rock posters, tickets, and backstage memorabilia as well as concert t-shirts in vintage and newly printed retro designs), publishes Crawdaddy, a magazine dedicated to rock music, offers a comprehensive schedule of artists now on tour, and lets users listen to rock concerts from the past for free!

Our focus obviously will be this last function of Wolfgang. By registering for a free account, you can enter the Concert Vault and browse over 3000 concert recordings! These recordings are of the greatest artists that music has seen. Over the years, these recordings have been recorded and re-mastered by the people. And now the Concert Vault has them for the public.

The Downloads page lists all recordings and lets the user download them either for free or by paying money (some recordings are free, others aren’t). There’s also a radio section where users can listen to the radio online and listen to amazing songs, Browsing for concerts can be done directly via the homepage of the Concert Vault.

As for searching for a particular artist: the top of Wolfgang’s page has a text entering field. Enter the name of the artist/band whose concert you want to listen to. Before clicking on ‘Search’ do make sure you’ve chosen the Concert Vault option instead of WolfGang.

Downloadable or not, you can always listen to a recording for free by clicking on the ‘Play’ button in the very beginning of each concert listing. Right after a short summary of the concert, the track listing is provided. Good descriptive summaries add to the excitement and help you put yourself in the concert. To listen to a song, simply click on it. A small online media player opens up which has a playlist made of all the songs of the concert you’ve chosen. When it starts, the song you clicked on starts playing. You can now listen to all the songs of that particular concert from within this online player.

If you’re wondering whether this website is offering these recordings for free by cheating the artists out of the money they deserve for their performances, then listen to what Wolfgang has to say: “The Concert Vault is fully licensed by BMI, ASCAP, and SESAC, and we pay these performance rights organizations every time you listen to a concert. The license fees make their way back to the performers that made the music. Download revenues are also shared with performers and publishers as appropriate. One of our top priorities will always be to make sure that the artists are compensated for their performances.”

Click this link to listen to live concert recordings: http://www.wolfgangsvault.com/concerts.

An Information Society and a Knowledge Based Economy

by Donna J. Jodhan

Yes! This is what is facing all of us today. Every man, woman, and child; we are living in an information society and a knowledge based economy. No shocker and no shaker. What exactly am I referring to? We are living in a society that is depending more and more on information in order to make ourselves more marketable to our economy. In short, we are depending more and more on the Internet to help us become more knowledgeable.

So what does all of this mean for a disabled person? How does this affect our lives as persons with disabilities? As I see it, it means that we as persons with disabilities have to work much harder to keep up. We need to become more vocal when it comes to what we need in order to live as normal a life as possible. We need to lobby harder and become better agents and conduits of change. How can we do this? By creating more awareness for ourselves; we need to make society aware of who we are, what we need, and why and we need to do it in a constructive and sustained way. We need to put more pressure on governments to make their websites accessible to all. We need to work with companies to ensure that their websites can easily be accessed by everyone including us. We need to go out there and educate others on why websites need to be made accessible to all. We need to tell everyone that it is not a nice to have when it comes to accessible websites. Rather, it is our right to have.

So often, governments tend to ignore our needs when it comes to making their websites accessible. For some odd reason they fail to consider us as persons who need to gain access to information just like the mainstream person. So we need to pressure them to fix this problem. Many companies often ignore our needs and in like manner we need to do the same. The need for information is only going to increase with time and the need for knowledge in order to function in our economy is only going to become more acute as well. These two situations are probably not going to go away so we might as well get used to it.

We already face very heavy challenges in our lives as disabled persons and an information society and a knowledge based economy are two things that are poised to make our lives even more difficult. A part of the solution is for us to recognize this and once we accept the inevitable, then we can start to work from there.

I'm Donna J. Jodhan, an accessibility and special needs business consultant wishing you a terrific day. If you'd like to learn more about me, then you can visit some of my blog spots at:
Donna Jodhan! Advocating accessibility for all: http://www.donnajodhan.blogspot.com
Weekly Saturday postings on issues of accessibility: http://www.sterlingcreations.ca/blog/blog.html
blogs on various issues and answers to consumers concerns: http://www.sterlingcreations.com/businessdesk.htmYes! This is what is facing all of us today. Every man, woman, and child; we are living in an information society and a knowledge based economy. No shocker and no shaker. What exactly am I referring to? We are living in a society that is depending more and more on information in order to make ourselves more marketable to our economy. In short, we are depending more and more on the Internet to help us become more knowledgeable. So what does all of this mean for a disabled person? How does this affect our lives as persons with disabilities? As I see it, it means that we as persons with disabilities have to work much harder to keep up. We need to become more vocal when it comes to what we need in order to live as normal a life as possible. We need to lobby harder and become better agents and conduits of change. How can we do this? By creating more awareness for ourselves; we need to make society aware of who we are, what we need, and why and we need to do it in a constructive and sustained way. We need to put more pressure on governments to make their websites accessible to all. We need to work with companies to ensure that their websites can easily be accessed by everyone including us. We need to go out there and educate others on why websites need to be made accessible to all. We need to tell everyone that it is not a nice to have when it comes to accessible websites. Rather, it is our right to have. So often, governments tend to ignore our needs when it comes to making their websites accessible. For some odd reason they fail to consider us as persons who need to gain access to information just like the mainstream person. So we need to pressure them to fix this problem. Many companies often ignore our needs and in like manner we need to do the same. The need for information is only going to increase with time and the need for knowledge in order to function in our economy is only going to become more acute as well. These two situations are probably not going to go away so we might as well get used to it. We already face very heavy challenges in our lives as disabled persons and an information society and a knowledge based economy are two things that are poised to make our lives even more difficult. A part of the solution is for us to recognize this and once we accept the inevitable, then we can start to work from there.