[bksvol-discuss] Re: gaps in the collection
- From: Monica Willyard <rhyami@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Mon, 23 Feb 2009 19:57:48 -0500
Sue, they outnumber us by three or four to one. If you do some Googling you
will see that the number of sighted people with print disabilities is quite
large since it includes several groups that qualify for services under the
Chafee Amendment. There are people with at least seven types of learning
disabilities that qualify for Bookshare as well as people with cerebral
palsy or total paralysis who can't hold books, people with traumatic brain
injuries that can't process print, and people who have had a stroke or other
illness who can no longer hold a book.
In my work for the Veterans Administration, I meet many adults who can see
perfectly but need Bookshare for reading. A lot of these people have
received brain injuries in combat where their visual cortex is jarred so
badly that it sends them gibberish when they try to read. Some of them can
look right at you and cannot describe your face or explain what you're doing
or wearing. I'm not talking about old men either. These are people Jake's
age and sometimes younger. These people are being taught to use computers
with speech and/or Braille for reading so they can reenter the work force.
We also have a fairly large number of men and women who have lost both hands
or arms in an explosion. They can read, but they can't hold a book very well
or turn its pages. These people learn to use things like voice recognition
software so they can speak and have the computer dictate letters and such.
They use Bookshare, NLS, and other services for reading material. Again,
these are often people in their 20s and 30s, people who have so much life
ahead of them. It warms my heart to see people choosing to cope and stay in
the game like these men and women.
On Mon, Feb 23, 2009 at 7:00 PM, siss52 <siss52@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> Monica,
>
> Beggin' your pardon, but do you really think sighted print disabled
> outnumber us? I doubt it. (smile)
>
> Sue S.
>
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