Hi Jim, Thanks very much for sharing this wonderful & most inspiring item with us. You may like to hear that I still have & use though sparingly now, the Optacon TSI presented to me back in 1972/73 when I visited TSI for Optacon training. Harry Bassler ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jim Bliss" <jim@xxxxxxxxxx> To: <optacon-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Thursday, March 27, 2008 12:34 PM Subject: [optacon-l] Note about Blindsight from Nancy Tavis >I received the following note from Nancy Tavis that I thought you might be > interested in. > > Jim Bliss > > March 11, 2008 > > Dear Jim, > > 1 have been thinking of you and Joan so much recently. I've had the most > exciting experience to tell to you. > > Sabriye Tenberkin spoke at the Carroll Center recently and during the talk > she mentioned using the OPTACON to study the Tibetan language, history and > culture. She lost her sight when she was 12 years old and eventually was > sent from Germany to the Overbrook School where she learned to use the > OPTACON. Sabriye said that the OPTACON was especially important to her > when > she was developing Braille for the Tibetan language. This eventually led > to > the opening of the BRAILLE WITHOUT BORDERS School. > > Copied from the Website w-ww.braillewithoutborders.org and also mentioned > in > her talk at the Carroll Center: "Sabriye studied Central Asian Studies at > Bonn University. In addition to Mongolian and modern Chinese, she studied > modern and classical Tibetan in combination with sociology and philosophy. > As no blind student had ever before ventured to enroll in these kind of > studies, she could not fall back on any experiences of anyone else so had > to > develop her own methods to come to terms with her course of studies. It > was > thus that a Tibetan script for the blind was developed". > > (In the talk at the Carroll Center she said that the OPTACON was the only > way she could take those courses and see the Tibetan characters). > > After her talk I told her that I was one of the original OPTACON teachers. > She jumped up and hugged me and said "you are my hero". I was stunned and > told her about you. She said for me to tell you "I love him because none > of > this would have been possible without the OPTACON". Of course Joan would > also be "her real hero" because she was the first OPTACON teacher. > > As you can see from the enclosed information that Sabriye was nominated > for > the Nobel Peace Prize and won two Mother Theresa Awards among many other > awards. > > She, the climbers and the Producer of the movie, BlindSight, are in > America > promoting the movie which opened in Boston last night, March 10. > > > > When we talked about the OPTACON, Sabriye mentioned that she used her > OPTACON until all the parts she could get were gone. > > The Director of the Tech Center at the Carroll Center, Brian Charlson's > wife > Kim Charlson, Director of the Talking Book Library at Perkins, continues > to > use an OPTACON. > > The OPTACON is still influencing lives all over the world, 36 years later > and will continue because BRAILLE WITHOUT BORDERS is expected to open > schools in India next and then in other developing countries. > > What an impact you and the OPTACON continue to have on lives throughout > the > world. (see attached bio of the climbers) > > These young people, who were hidden away because in Tibet blindness was a > terrible stigma on the family, are now the support of their family. > > The movie opens in SF March 28t". I think that Sabriye attends the > openings. > It is going to DVD as well. > > . > > > > > To unsubscribe at any time, just send a message to: > > optacon-l-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the word "unsubscribe" (without the > quotes) in the message subject. > > Tell your friends about the list. They can subscribe by sending a message > to: > > optacon-l-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the word "subscribe" (without the > quotes) in the message subject. > > To unsubscribe at any time, just send a message to: optacon-l-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the word "unsubscribe" (without the quotes) in the message subject. Tell your friends about the list. They can subscribe by sending a message to: optacon-l-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the word "subscribe" (without the quotes) in the message subject.