APH News: November 2014

Exciting New APH Products Announced!

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

• APH Fall Harvest Sale
• Wilson Reading System: Student Kits and Instructional Materials
• Quick and Easy Expanded Core Curriculum
• Parenting With a Visual Impairment: Advice for Raising Babies and Young Children
• REVISED: Aluminum Diagramming Foil for Use with Tactile Graphics Kit
• APH Braille Book Corner

Steaming Ahead – Annual Meeting 2014 Docks in Louisville!

It was “full steam ahead” for the approximately 400 attendees who came to Louisville October 16 – 18 for the 146th APH Annual Meeting. From the opening session aboard the Spirit of Peoria to the final moments of Saturday’s related meetings, we navigated great moments of learning, inspiration, innovation and fun.

APH “Printery Head” E.E. Bramlette took us back to 1925 during Thursday’s opening session and set the stage for President Tuck Tinsley’s opening remarks. The keynote address presented by Dr. Joshua Miele opened the doors for outstanding ideas and possibilities for the future. The “Teacher Talks” returned to the Product Showcase, where experts Sandy Rosen, Beth Ramella, and Karen Poppe wowed the audience with tips and tricks for using APH products. APH staff members gathered great information during product input sessions, and attendees learned much from APH staff and consultants during product training sessions and the poster sessions/information fair. The Friday afternoon general session impacted all who heard the stories and accomplishments of APH Scholars, Prison Braille Forum attendee Randy Davis, and Lou Tutt, the 2014 Wings of Freedom Award recipient. Friday night’s InSights Art Award Ceremony was followed by the Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, and both events inspired those in attendance.

We will soon be making plans for the 147th Annual Meeting of Ex Officio Trustees and Special Guests, which will take place at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Louisville on October 8 – 10, 2015. We hope to see you there!

APH President Tuck Tinsley Receives 2014 President’s Award from Hadley School for the Blind

APH President Tuck Tinsley with Hadley President Chuck Young

The award was presented at the Annual Meeting of the Hadley Board of Trustees on Thursday, October 9, at the Skokie Country Club in Glencoe, Illinois. The President’s Award is given annually by Hadley President Chuck Young in recognition of an individual or group demonstrating exceptional spirit in raising awareness of the needs and abilities of individuals who are blind or visually impaired.

“Dr. Tinsley is a widely-admired advocate for the education of individuals who are blind or visually impaired,” said Hadley President Chuck Young. “Most recently, his advocacy, ever-present optimism and encouragement were instrumental in bringing Hadley’s new “Braille Music Reading” curriculum to fruition, while providing an APH grant for its development.”

Launching Boehm-3 Preschool Test of Basic Concepts

We were honored to have Dr. Ann Boehm, a nationally recognized expert in the field of early childhood assessment join us for the 146th APH Annual Meeting to launch the release of the Boehm-3 Preschool Tactile and Big Picture Kits. The original Boehm Test of Basic Concepts was a product of Dr. Boehm’s doctoral dissertation at Columbia University. The test has undergone revisions and still stands as one of the most widely used assessments for young children.

Dr. Boehm was quite impressed with the adaptation of the assessment for students that are blind and visually impaired. Cathy Smyth, doctoral student of Dr. Kay Ferrell at the University of Northern Colorado, is following in Dr. Boehm’s footsteps. Cathy is using the adaptation of the Boehm-3 Preschool in her dissertation, hoping to provide validity information in relation to our student population.

While in Louisville, Cathy Smyth and Dr. Boehm met with Carolyn Zierer (Test and Assessment Project Leader) and Laura Zierer (Research Assistant) to work on the Boehm-3 K-2 assessment. In the near future, there will be a need for professionals to participate in field testing the Big Picture version, as well as the Tactile version.

The Tactile Editing Marks Kit

The writing process is an integral part of language arts instruction in many classrooms. From the early primary grades on, children learn about the stages of planning, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing that are so familiar to adult writers. Young students with visual impairments who use a braillewriter for writing often require additional support with revising and editing, which can be cumbersome on a brailler. The use of tactile editing marks, with assistance from the teacher as needed, provides these beginning writers with a concrete way to indicate changes on their braille drafts as they revise and edit short pieces.

The American Printing House for the Blind is seeking field evaluators for The Tactile Editing Marks Kit, developed by Anna Swenson. Students in the field evaluation must be braille readers enrolled in grades 1-8, must be able to field test Jan-Mar 2015, and must be participating in classroom writing projects.
If interested in participating, please send the following information to Jeanette Wicker, Core Curriculum Consultant at jwicker@aph.org

1. Name
2. School/District Name
3. School Mailing Address
4. Phone
5. Age of Student
6. Grade of Student
7. Class placement (general education class, resource room, self-contained special education setting, or residential school class)
8. Does the student have access to a notetaker? If not, in what grade do you anticipate he/she will get one?
9. Your preferred reading medium

Winter White Fun

Plan now for cold weather sports!

Visit the APH PE website to find a winter sports camp near you. If you have camp and would like to have it added to the list, contact tpierce@aph.org.

A Great New Tool for Coaches on the Go!

Check out the latest APH Physical Education website’s Feature Page about the Team USA Mobile Coach App. The United States Association of Blind Athletes (USABA) provides drills, skill forms, resources, and videos to help coach Paralympic sports for athletes who have visual impairments or blindness.

Record Attendance at 2014 National Prison Braille Forum!

Among those attending the 2014 National Prison Braille Forum were (l-r) Ex Officio Trustee Paula Mauro of Ohio, APH President Tuck Tinsley, and Warden Janet Conover of the Kentucky Correctional Institution for Women.

Participants learned about a new initiative for transcribers re-entering the workforce.

APH staff hosted the 14th annual National Prison Braille Forum on October 15, in conjunction with APH’s 146th Annual Meeting. Seventy-nine corrections and vision professionals from twenty-two states, including eleven APH Ex Officio Trustees, attended the day-long conference, which was preceded by an evening reception.

During this Forum, staff launched the Braille Transcriber Apprentice Program (BTAP), which is a pilot initiative for FY2015. Through this program, APH will identify and recruit up to six highly qualified braille transcribers who learned braille while incarcerated, to work as apprentices at APH for several months. When the apprenticeship ends, APH hopes to contract with these professionals for braille transcription services when they return to their home states. While working at APH, apprentices will be provided with any training they may need to establish successful careers as braille transcribers. One Forum attendee commented, “Individuals transcribing out of the prison will benefit from the support the program offers and the field will benefit from their continued expertise in braille.”

Another Forum topic of interest was the implementation of UEB (Unified English Braille) training for transcribers in prison braille programs across the U.S. Apparently, some programs have already launched training programs using curricula from Canada and Australia.

Details about the BTAP pilot initiative, including a program description and application, are available online at: sites.aph.org/pbf/programs.

For additional information about BTAP or joining the National Prison Braille Network, please contact Becky Snider (rsnider@aph.org).

Treasures From the APH Libraries

The APH Barr Library supports research initiatives at APH, while the Migel Library is one of the largest collections of nonmedical information related to blindness in the world. Although the collections do not circulate, arrangements can be made to use the materials on-site. In addition, an ongoing digitization effort means APH will continue to make materials available through the online catalog at http://migel.aph.org.

From the Barr Library: Chamberlin, Kate. Behind Our Eyes: A Second Look: The Second Literary Anthology of Stories, Poems and Essay by Writers with Disabilities. Norway, Maine: PRGott Books Publishing, 2013.

Behind Our Eyes, Inc. is a nonprofit organization that increases opportunities for writers with disabilities to collaborate with others in the publishing field. Members utilize assistive technologies, such Braille displays and screen-reading software, to enhance their skills. This latest anthology reveals the unique voices within the group while emphasizing what unifies them with humanity as a whole. Comprised of over one hundred creative pieces, this book largely draws on experiences with visual impairment. In the essay, “What I See,” David Kingsbury describes the “spectacular lightshows” that he saw as his vision receded; however, he also imparts a deeper insight: “Coping with blindness has meant accepting the world on its new terms rather than futilely yearning for what it once was but can never be again. This, more than anything else, is what I now see.” The first anthology is available in recorded and Braille format from the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped.

From the Migel Library: Medical Department, United States Army. Guide for Those Giving Rehabilitation Service to the Blind. Washington, D.C.: Office of the Surgeon General, 1945. Intra-Service Publication.

Published in September of 1945, this brief manual was created to prepare Army medical personnel for assisting newly-blinded patients. Since a veteran typically has learned enough about his blindness to know more than the medic, it focuses on guiding the patient by the arm, helping with travel, eating, and daily living while still in a military facility. In addition to the actual information given, though, the format is quite interesting. Like many old military manuals, it has been written with an audience predominantly made up of young men in mind. Comics are used to entertain while educating. The reader is warned that a patient may “wrap his cane around your neck” if you make any assumptions about the patient. And it is advised that the attendant give a “play-by-play account” and, “If you see a blond, tell him about her in some detail.” The manual has been digitized for Internet Archive, and is available at https://archive.org/details/guideforthosegiv00unse.

APH is working with the Internet Archive to digitize portions of the M.C. Migel Library. Search the phrase “full text” to find these items at http://migel.aph.org. The digitized texts are available in a variety of formats, including DAISY, Kindle, EPUB, PDF, etc.

Contact Library staff: library@aph.org, 800-223-1839, ext. 705

The "Established" APH Product Series: Squid Tactile Activities Magazine

There are seven available issues of Squid Tactile Activities Magazine. These activities magazines introduce a deceptively fun, recreational approach to tactile literacy. While the child enjoys a variety of activities, he or she will acquire skills needed to become a more proficient tactile reader. These puzzles, games, and brainteasers will foster texture discrimination, systematic searching, shape identification, tracking line paths, pattern building and recognition, and understanding symbols.

Each issue includes a large print/braille activity booklet, puzzle solutions, and a tactile activity packet that contains an assortment of 3-hole punched tactile activities that can be included in your own binder. These graphics are presented using a variety of different tactile graphic production methods in an effort to expose students to several of the methods they will likely encounter during their school career. Many of the tactile puzzles are reusable and are intended to grow with the child as he or she acquires new skills and tactile understanding.

University of Kentucky Students Visit APH

On Friday, October 24, a group of students in the vision teacher prep program at UK spent the afternoon with us touring and learning about products.

APH on Wonderopolis!

APH has begun guest-blogging for Wonderopolis (www.wonderopolis.org), a nationally-recognized blog used primarily by educators and students in the classroom. Wonderopolis is maintained by the National Center for Families Learning (www.familieslearning.org), formerly National Center on Family Literacy, which is also based here in Louisville, Kentucky. According to their website, NCFL "exists to create a culture of family engagement across the educational spectrum."

We will be contributing articles on issues relating to blindness and visual impairments. Our first post, published on October 15, described how people who are blind and visually impaired use technology, specifically smartphones and computers. In the future, we will write posts on sports for people who are blind and other topics.

Wonderopolis is read nationally by educators and students, some of whom may not be aware of the abilities of people who are blind and visually impaired. This will be a great opportunity to educate and bring awareness and understanding about people who are blind to a broader audience.

Around the House:

Ralph Bartley

Frank Hayden

Kate Herndon

Larry Skutchan

Jeremy Ockerman

Andrew Moulton

Cathy Senft-Graves

email hidden; JavaScript is required

Big changes are happening in the Research Department at APH. In an effort to better align APH with your product needs now and in the future, we made a few “tweaks”! Please join us in congratulating these fine Research Department folks on their promotions!

• Dr. Ralph Bartley, Executive Director of Research
• Frank Hayden, Director of Technical and Manufacturing Research
• Kate Herndon, Director of Educational Product Research
• Larry Skutchan, Director of Technology Product Research
• Jeremy Ockerman, Advisory Services and Research Business Coordinator
• Andrew Moulton, Manager, Technical and Manufacturing Research
• Cathy Senft-Graves, Braille Literacy and Technology Project Leader

In the Communications Department, we proudly announce this promotion:

• email hidden; JavaScript is required, Website and Video Designer

Social Media Spotlight

Did you know that you can search Fred’s Head articles by subject? “Teachers’ Resources” has over 500 articles of interest to teachers, including tips from TVIs and products to use in the classroom.

Do YOU have an idea you’d like to share with other teachers or professionals in the blindness field? Please email Marissa Stalvey at mstalvey@aph.org to get your idea published in our blog!

"Like" APH at Our Facebook Page!

We invite you to visit our Facebook page and "Like" us! You can find APH at these social media sites: Twitter, Google+, YouTube, Flickr, Pinterest, and at our blog, Fred’s Head from APH.

APH Welcomes New Ex Officio Trustees

Lorrie Nanry, the Lavelle School for the Blind, replacing Frank Simpson.

Mary Jo Wagner, the West Virginia State Department of Education, replacing Donna See.

Jamie L. McBride, the West Virginia Schools for the Deaf and the Blind, replacing Lynn Boyer.

APH Travel Calendar

November

November 3-4, 2014
Ohio Chapter AER (AERO) Conference

November 5-8, 2014
NAEYC 2014 Annual Conference & Expo

November 7, 2014
VRATE 2014 – 18th Annual Vision Rehabilitation & Technology Expo

November 7-9, 2014
BANA Fall Meeting 2014

November 10-12, 2014
2014 Conference of the Association of Vision Rehabilitation Therapists and Post-Conference IOS Training
AVRT (MACRT-ASERT

November 13-14, 2014
South Carolina AER Conference

January

January 28-31, 2015
ATIA 2015

March

March 17-21, 2015
AAHPERD 2015

March 2-7, 2015
CSUN 2015

APH Fall Harvest Sale

Load up a world of savings on selected APH products with APH’s Fall Harvest Sale 2014, October 1—December 31. As always, first come, first served.

archive.aph.org/sale

Wilson Reading System: Student Kits and Instructional Materials

Wilson Reading System Student Reader Kits, Braille

Student Reader One, Supplemental Worksheets One, Modified Workbooks 1A and 1B, Teacher’s Brochure, and WADE Sheets: 6-79501-SK1 — $229.00

NEW! Student Reader Two, Supplemental Worksheets Two, Modified Workbooks 2A and 2B, and Teacher’s Brochure: 6-79501-SK2 — $229.00

NEW! Student Reader Three, Supplemental Worksheets Three, Modified Workbooks 3A and 3B, and Teacher’s Brochure: 6-79501-SK3 — $229.00

Related Products

Wilson Reading System Student Reader Kits, Large Print:
Student Reader One and Workbooks 1A and 1B: 8-79501-SK1 — $37.00
Student Reader Two and Workbooks 2A and 2B: 8-79501-SK2 — $37.00
Student Reader Three and Workbooks 3A and 3B: 8-79501-SK3 — $37.00

Wilson Reading System Instructional Materials:
Card Sets w/Carry Case: 6-79505-00 — $139.00

Print/Braille Magnetic Tiles and Journal: 6-79506-00 — $59.00

The Wilson Reading System® (WRS) is a research-based reading and writing program.

WRS 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.

For more information and professional development opportunities on the use of the program, please visit: wilsonlanguage.com

Notes

• Wilson Reading System Instructional Materials are needed to work with the WRS Large Print and Braille Student Kits.
• The Teacher’s Brochure included in the Student Braille Kits is available as a free download in accessible formats of .brf and .txt from the APH website: archive.aph.org/manuals/

How to get your Teacher’s Brochure and Teacher Manuals

• Teacher’s Brochure: Download the free Teacher’s Brochure for more information on using the Wilson Reading Program with Braille Readers, archive.aph.org/manuals/
• Teacher Manuals are NOT included in these kits. Teacher Manuals may be ordered from Wilson Language Training, http://www.wilsonlanguage.com/

Please contact Wilson Language Training Corporation for training opportunities and information on Wilson Certification.

Recommended grades: 2 and up.

Quick and Easy Expanded Core Curriculum

1-08204-00 — $45.00

Over 140 lessons to address the nine areas of the Expanded Core Curriculum (ECC) in a variety of settings.

Quick & Easy Expanded Core Curriculum is designed for transition students who are visually impaired. The included lessons were chosen to address the most common gaps found within this population and require little time, expertise, or equipment to implement by the educational team and family members. The lessons, categorized by setting (home/school or community), are intentionally designed to be completed in 5–15 minutes. They are not designed to replace a comprehensive program addressing the ECC.

Each ECC lesson card is printed on durable paper stock and 3-hole punched for convenient storage in a custom-made binder. Visual icons within a color identification bar indicate ECC area(s) addressed by the lesson. Needed materials are listed in a different color bold font. Each lesson card measures 8 1/2 x 7 inches.

A Quick & Easy ECC Checklist is included to monitor an individual student’s progress and serve as an informal assessment. The checklist is included in the binder as well as on the accompanying CD-ROM as a Microsoft® Excel® spreadsheet.

The Quick & Easy ECC Matrix (in both hardcopy and electronic formats) provides an overview of the ECC lessons covered in each lesson. The matrix key identifies the primary ECC area addressed, immersed ECC areas, and provision of a Try It lesson (a suggestion for home practice).

Example ECC lessons target the following skills

• Planning a menu
• Practicing conversation
• Giving & receiving compliments
• Labeling cans and frozen foods
• Making purchases based on a budget
• Expanding career knowledge
• Tracking medical history
• Spreading condiments
• Reading nutrition labels
• Properly using smart phones
• Learning customer service techniques

Quick & Easy ECC Kit Includes

• Binder with 142 lesson cards
• CD-ROM with accessible files:
  • Binder contents (.brf)
  • Matrix (.brf and .pdf)
  • Checklist (Microsoft Excel)

Note: The entire binder contents are only available as a braille ready format (.brf) file.

Recommended ages: Middle and high school transition students.

Parenting With a Visual Impairment: Advice for Raising Babies and Young Children

Large Print w/Audio CDs: 8-00100-00 — $79.00
New! Braille w/Audio CDs: 6-00100-00 — $89.00

Braille Edition Now Available! This book plus audio CDs shares helpful tips, techniques, attitudes, and preparatory experiences from successful parents who are blind and visually impaired. The parents featured in the book each completed an extensive written questionnaire and a 90-minute phone interview about how they accomplished parenting tasks using non-visual techniques.

Book Summarizes Parents’ Responses

• Decided to have children
• Prepared to become parents
• Acquired information about pregnancy and childbirth
• Fed, diapered, and kept their newborns clean
• Read to, played with, and visually stimulated their infants
• Child proofed their homes and monitored their babies
• Managed fevers, medications, and medical care
• Taught colors, print letters & numbers, and drawing
• Monitored and kept their toddlers safe indoors and outdoors
• Traveled independently with their young children
• Dealt with reactions of medical care providers, family, and the public at large
• Handled attitudes of day-care staff, preschool teachers, and their child’s friends

Features

• Provides family and Consumer Science students with visual impairments with information pertinent to their own lives as visually-impaired parents-to-be
• Helps transition students realize that their visual impairment should not stop them from including parenthood in their future plans
• Gives teachers an accurate picture of how blind adults take care of children so that teachers can impart this positive self-image to visually impaired students
• Gives adults who have lost vision tools to continue to care for their children
• Shows medical service, psychology, social work, counseling, protective service, and legal professionals how adults with visual impairments using alternate skill sets parent their children effectively
• Corrects the negative stereotypes about parents with visual impairments, which have, even in the 21st century, resulted in a newborn’s removal from her parents solely because both parents were blind

Recommended ages: Middle School and up.

REVISED: Aluminum Diagramming Foil for Use with Tactile Graphics Kit

Roll: 1-04121-00 — $76.00

Related Products

Aluminum Diagramming Foil for Use with Tactile Graphics Kit: Sheets 1-04090-00 — $27.00

Tactile Graphics Kit: 1-08851-00 — $266.00

Use this for creating masters of raised-line graphics. Foil has white paint on one side for drawing graphics beforehand in pencil or ink. Available in rolls or sheets. Roll is 11 inches wide and approximately 75 feet long. Sheets measure 11 x 11 inches, 30 sheets per package. Foil is 0.005 inches thick.

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 several weeks for delivery.

I Can Be Safe: A First Look at Safety
by Pat Thomas: T-N1951-10 — $15.50
Teaches children to trust their instincts when it comes to new situations and strangers. Shows them ways to keep safe, such as knowing their phone number and their parents’ names, and what to do if someone touches them inappropriately. Preschool-Grade 2.

The Terrible Thing That Happened to Barnaby Brocket
by John Boyne: T-N1998-90 — $79.50
The Brocket family adores being dull and normal. But after the birth of their third child, Barnaby, they are horrified to discover that he defies the law of gravity and floats. One day his mother lets him loose — and then his adventures begin. Grades 5-8. *(AR Quiz No. 156094, BL 6.2 Pts 9.0)

Navajos Wear Nikes: A Reservation Life
by Jim Kristofic: T-N1988-90 — $116.00
A Pennsylvania high school teacher reminisces about growing up on the Navajo reservation in Ganado, Arizona, he and his Indian-obsessed mother moved to when he was seven. Kristofic, who is white, describes the racial tensions, violence, and poverty on the "rez." Some adult content.

Better Living Through Plastic Explosives
by Zsuzsi Gartner: T-N1994-50 — $87.50
Ten satirical short stories focusing on yuppies in Vancouver, British Columbia. In the title piece a recovering terrorist tries to drown her desires in gardening and everyday life — but the red tape of trying to get a traffic circle on her street may break her. Some adult content.

No Word from Winifred
by Amanda Cross: T-N1985-30 — $86.00
Winifred Ashby, the honorary niece of noted British author Charlotte Stanton, mysteriously disappears after agreeing to be interviewed for Charlotte’s biography. The biographer hires professor and sleuth Kate Fansler to try to locate Winifred. Some adult content.

*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/