Celebrating Larry B. Kimbler for His Many Years of Service to AFB
It often takes a personal connection to fully appreciate how much someone who is blind or visually impaired can accomplish in their lives—and the challenges they might face in the process.
That was the case for Larry B. Kimbler, who just completed his second term on AFB’s national Board of Trustees, serving for the last four years as board chair.
Years ago, one of Kimbler’s daughters went to school with a young woman who lost her vision when she was 12 years old. Fortunately, the girl’s…
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Personal Reflections
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American Foundation for the Blind Statement on the Department of Education Rescinding Guidance Documents on Students' Rights
Last Friday, October 20, the U.S. Department of Education Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) announced that it had rescinded 72 federal guidance documents relating to children's rights under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.
OSERS wrote in a newsletter Friday that a total of 72 guidance documents that help clarify students' rights had been rescinded on October 2 "due to being outdated, unnecessary, or…
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Education, In the News, Public Policy, Readers Want to Know
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Deepening My Understanding of Social Security, Advocacy, and Disability Rights
I have always loved the idea of working in the policy and research field. As a former teacher of students with deafblindness, I figured out pretty quickly that while I could make a big difference for the students in my classroom, I had very little power to help the students in a school down the street, a school across the state, or a school across the country. I imagined working in the policy field was where I could make the most difference, where I could be a part of the systems change…
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In the News, Personal Reflections, Public Policy
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Dispelling Misconceptions About Blindness at the 2017 San Diego Maker Faire
Kirk Adams and I were pleased to participate in a variety of activities during the 2017 San Diego Maker Faire in Balboa Park, October 7 and 8.
In conjunction with Dr. Melissa Ganus of Quality of Life Experiments, I participated in the Human Library on October 7 at the San Diego Museum of Man. Several individuals representing a variety of communities were brought together to serve as living books to be checked out. The concept was to provide a nonthreatening environment in which people could…
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Conference Recaps, Personal Reflections, Readers Want to Know
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Takeaways from "Medicare Should Pay for Low Vision Devices: Views Through Different Lenses" Teleseminar
On October 4, 2017 AFB and the 21st Century Agenda on Aging and Vision Loss hosted a teleseminar, "Medicare Should Pay for Low Vision Devices: Views Through Different Lenses." We would like to thank all of the panelists (listed below) and participants who joined us for this informative discussion. A special thanks goes out to VFO who generously sponsored the event.
Following are a few of the main takeaways from the call:
Medicare must determine that low vision devices are eligible durable…
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Health, Independence, Public Policy
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Breaking News: AFB Applauds Senate Action on Autonomous Vehicles Legislation Benefiting People with Vision Loss
The American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) applauds Senators John Thune, Gary Peters, Roy Blunt, and Debbie Stabenow for introducing the American Vision for Safer Transportation through Advancement of Revolutionary Technologies (AV START) Act (S. 1885). This groundbreaking bipartisan bill was passed out of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation this morning, and includes many specific provisions drafted by AFB that address our concerns about the earlier House…
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On the Brink of Health Care Repeal: Tell Your Senators to Oppose Graham-Cassidy Healthcare Proposal
The Senate is moving forward next week with a vote to pass the latest healthcare proposal, written by Senators Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Bill Cassidy (R-La.). The Graham-Cassidy proposal would repeal the Affordable Care Act's (ACA's) Medicaid expansion, premium tax credits, and other beneficial programs. States will be able to waive protections for people with pre-existing conditions. This bill will be devastating to people with disabilities and their families, women and children, seniors,…
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Health, Public Policy, In the News
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North Texas Community Comes Together to Benefit the AFB Center on Vision Loss
We did it! Thanks to all of you the AFB Center on Vision Loss (CVL) reached the $5,000 challenge goal during North Texas Giving Day on September 14 . In addition, our generous challenge grant donors contributed another $5,000 when we hit the goal! In total, you helped us raise $13,025 benefitting the Center on Vision Loss.
The AFB Center on Vision Loss focuses on increasing the numbers of persons with visual impairment served in the North Texas region. Funding from the giving day will go to…
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Tips to Deal with and Lessons Learned from a Natural Disaster
Our thoughts are with everyone who is coping with displacement, or whose friends and family have been impacted by Hurricane Harvey. As the vicious wind and rain of Hurricane Harvey leave east Texas and her residents in its wake and move across the coast as a tropical storm, residents are beginning to assess the damage wrought and start the process of rebuilding their lives.
This week, the Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness has made available the article Disoriented and Immobile:…
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"Failures Become Victories If They Make Us Wise-Hearted" - Helen Keller
"...Let us not forget the treasures which the swift years have laid at our feet—the strength, the sense, the courage to meet difficulties and overcome them. Nothing else matters very much. To keep on trying in spite of disappointment and failure is the only way to keep young and brave. Failures become victories if they make us wise-hearted."
-Helen Keller, in a 1921 speech she gave at the reunion dinner for Wright-Humason School, sharing memories of past classmates and her time spent at…
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Helen Keller
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