BlindOnlineSuccessSystem.com

Archive for the ‘Important Issues For The Blind’ Category

We’re getting ready for 2009, can you believe that?  Can you also believe that come July, BOSS will be 2 years old?  Wow!  Time flies when you’re having fun!

We have covered a lot of ground this past year, and we’re looking forward to 2009 with even more expectation than ever before.  We have high hopes that BOSS will grow even more this next year because we’re getting ready to heavily promote our program.

As I write this post, I am preparing to launch a massive promotional campaign which will include every BOSS member.  I plan to send each and every BOSS member two of our promotional CD’s that they can use to spread the word out about the Blind Online Success System.

These promotional CD’s were created some time back, but this next year, they will be used for some rather major promotion.  I have already started this campaign by emailing many agencies for the blind, and I have already recieved some responses.  However, this campaign will go even further during 2009.

Promotion of the Blind Online Success System is a must.  We need to get the word out and we need to expand and get more blind and visually impaired people starting their own online businesses through our unique program.

Anybody who is interested in assisting us to promote our program is more than welcome to assist in any way possible.  We strongly urge the public to get involved if at all possible.  The more that this is promoted, the better it will become.  We have already reached some milestones, and we plan to reach even more during 2009.

Let’s make 2009 a year of new horizons and greater expansion all throughout our entire program.  Let’s see how far we can take this, and let’s see just how many new members we can get to join us.  2009 will definitely be a grand business-building year for the BOSS program.  I would like to see many new businesses started and I would like to see many new happy business owners.  These are my personal goals for the BOSS program, and that’s what I plan to work on this new year.

A brand new commemorative coin was unvailed at the NFB National Convention.  This coin is totally unique in that it is the very first bit of U.S currency with raised Braille dots.  The coin is described below.

The heads side of the silver dollar depicts Louis Braille with the word "Liberty" above it.
On the back of the coin, the Braille code for the word Braille — or "Brl" — is inscribed, above a depiction of a school-age boy reading a Braille book with
a cane resting on his arm. Behind him is a bookshelf bearing the word "Independence."

The commemorative 1-ounce coin will be available in spring 2009, the 200th anniversary of Louis Braille’s birth. The U.S. Mint will produce 400,000 of the
coins. Braille was born in France in 1809.

A $10 surcharge will be added to each coin, with money from the coin sales going to support programs to help the blind.

This is definitely a step in the right direction in providing equal access to our currency by the blind.  Of course, our coin system has been pretty accessible through the different tactile representations, and sizes of each coin, but putting actual Braille on them adds that special touch that so many blind individuals are familiar with.  Braille is their language.  By adding Braille on the currency will mean great employment potential, not to mention greater independence for the blind who require the reading of Braille in their lives.  By revamping the U.S currency to meet the needs of the Blind means that our nation is taking a step in the right direction in aiding in the independence of those who are blind.

For so long now, the blind have had to rely upon sighted individuals to tell them what their currency, and hope that what they were told was the honest truth.  However, with more accessible currency, the blind themselves can tell the difference in currency, and not have to consult another sighted individual just to tell them what a particular bit of currency is.

By making our money more accessible to the blind means that those who are blind can do a whole lot more in their day to day lives, thus live that much more independently.

We already put Braille dots on the insides of elevators without thinking about it, so why not our money too?  It is high time that our government and those in power take the right steps to improve our currency to adaquately accomodate the blind.  We have the ADA, Americans With Disabilities Act which helps with things such as employment, housing and transportation, but we have lacked in handling our currency in the same mannor.  Yo would have thought that with the ADA in place, that our currency would automatically follow those guidelines, but it hasen’t,  and it needs to catch up.

There is an ongoing debate over the accessibility of the U.S currency, and whether or not it is sufficient for blind and visually impaired people to accurately use in their day to day lives.  It has been noted that many blind and visually impaired people simply fold their bills a certain way to distinguish them from other bills.  However, there is a huge problem that has been overlooked for a number of years now concerning just how accessible the U.S currency really is for the blind and visually impaired.  The problem comes from not how the bills are folded, but the problem lies in the change given to blind people from store clerks and other individuals. The Blind and visually impaired have had to rely upon other people to tell them what denomination they had recieved as change from a purchase, and at times, this has proven to be quite a financial disaster.  As we all know, not everyone can be fully trusted in this matter, so the blind have had to live with this issue for years.  After all, how can you tell an honest person from a dishonest one when it comes to money?

Not that everyone should be grouped into the same category, but think about this for a moment.  What if you were blind or visually impaired and you went and made a purchase and had to recieve change back from the purchase, and the store clerk told you what the correct change was, but instead, handed you something totally different without you knowing it?  Well that happens a lot to blind and visually impaired people, and it is all due to the fact that our currency is not accessible to the blind or visually impaired.

Are there technological solutions to this problem?  Well currently there are, in the form of bill identifiers, which help to properly identify different denominations of bills to the blind.  However, these devices are not in the hands of most blind or visually impaired individuals.  So there needs to be a better solution that fits all blind and visually impaired persons, and not just a select few.

Things like talking bill identifiers, talking cash registers and other talking money related items are great pieces of technology, but as you may, or may not know, some of these devices aren’t portable, and affordable to most blind people.  Maybe a solution could be that a different texture could be placed on a certain part of the bill to help to identify it in one way, or another without having to be quite obvious.  Different textures could be assigned to different denominations so that the blind could tell them apart.

Whatever the solution is; we need one really soon to solve this issue.  That way, the blind and visually impaired can be treated just as equal as sighted people when it comes to our currency.

The U.S Treasury department has already redesigned the U.S currency a number of times over the past few years, mainly to protect from counterfitting.  However, no changes in the size, or shape of the bills has been implemented to accomodate the blind or visually impaired U.S citizens.  There have been a number of ideas as to how to make the currency more acceptable and more reliable for the blind and visually impaired.  Everything from simply changing the size of the bills to adding specialized raised markings on the bills to help the blind distinguish between the different denominations.  It has been determined that the U.S Treasury department is in violation of the law regarding descrimination against the blind and visually impaired.  However, not all blind agencies agree with the overhalling of the U.S currency.  Some agencies say that there’s nothing wrong with the current currency and that it should be lef talone, while others say that there needs to be some changes made to it to properly accomodate the blind and visually impaired.

Other nations have already implemented such changes into their currency, but the U.S falls far behind in this measure.  The issue of the U.S currency has been around for quite some time now, and mumerous debates have been held on the topic.  It has been discussed for years at whether or not the U.S currency should be made accessible to those who are blind or visually impaired, and if you look at it the same way that the ADA views public buildings, then the U.S Treasury department is in direct violation of the ADA because of the mere fact that the currency has no identifying indicators that would help any blind or visually impaired individual to be able to distinguish between the different denominations.  Just as the ADA says that all public buildings should be  made accessible, then should they also say that the U.S currency should also be made accessible as well.

If the U.S Treasury Department is forced to make the U.S currency accessible for the blind and visually impaired, then 2008 will be a year to remember.  The United States will have finally caught up with other nations in making their currency accessible.  If this passes, then the blind will finally be able to distinguish between the different denominations without having to use expensive technology, or other individuals  in order to do it.  This will in turn, give all blind citizens of the United States equal access to currency and currency exchange.

— Close your eyes, reach into your wallet and try to distinguish between a $1 bill and a $5 bill. Impossible? It’s also discriminatory, a federal appeals court says.

Since all paper money feels pretty much the same, the government is denying blind people meaningful access to the currency, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled Tuesday. The decision could force the Treasury Department to make bills of different sizes or print them with raised markings or other distinguishing features.

The American Council For The Blind has sued for such changes, but the federal government has been fighting this for about 6 years now.

The court ruled 2-1 that such adaptations were insufficient under the Rehabilitation Act. The government might as well argue that there’s no need to make buildings accessible to wheelchairs because handicapped people can crawl on all fours or ask passers-by for help, the court said.

If the bills were made accessible, this could mean more job opportunities for the blind because employers would feel less reluctant to hiring people who are blind to handle money.  At the current situation, blind individuals working in situations where they have to handle money is quite a cumbersome thing because they either have to rely on expensive technology that doesn’t always work,  or other people to be honest and tell them what the different denominations are.  HOwever, if the money was redesigned and made totally accessible, that would add yet another avenue of total independence for the blind and visually impaired to be able to lead more productive lives.

With the upcoming swearing-in of David Paterson as governor of New York, The Associated Press ran a story entitled Employer Bias Thwarts Many Blind Workers.

In the story they point out that the biggest obstacle to employment for blind persons is the negative attitude of many employers.

Technology and training has made it possible for blind and visually impaired persons to perform many job duties that employers think they are not capable of performing.

While blind people hold all sorts of jobs these days— examples cited in the AP article were judge, fitness trainer, TV show host, registered nurse, and lawyer.

"Unfortunately we’re still living in an age of misperceptions of what blind people can do," said Carl Augusto, president of the American Foundation for the Blind. "We’re hoping that an employer considering hiring a blind person will say that if David Paterson can be governor and be legally blind, maybe this applicant who is blind can be a good computer programmer."

There are an estimated 10 million visually impaired people in the United States, including about 1.3 million who are legally blind, according to Augusto’s foundation. The foundation says legal blindness is generally described as visual acuity of 20-200 or less in the better eye, with a corrective lens.

"The assisted technology has made the playing field as level as it’s ever been for blind people," said Kirk Adams, president of Seattle’s Lighthouse for the Blind, a nonprofit agency that provides job help. "There are fewer and fewer jobs a blind person can’t do."

The article states that there is a lot of frustration among blind kids, 16 to 18 years old. Many of the typical first job opportunities are not being made available by employers despite requirements by the ADA legislation.

"The fact is that in the 21st century workplace people who are blind are just as able to do a job as anyone else—they just need to be given a chance," said EEOC spokesman David Grinberg. "They know the deck is stacked against them. They work harder than others, and they end out being more effective workers."

Rather then leaving people at the mercy of understanding employers, the Blind Online Success System teaches skills that allow a blind or visually impaired person to become their own boss. They are able to work from home, online, and this also helps with transportation issues that can complicate looking for a job.

If you are interested in knowing more about the BOSS program, click below.

Click Here For Blind Online Success System Information

If you are not blind or visually impaired but are interested in being able to work for yourself online, please click below to visit the best training program available.

Click Here For Information on the Internet Success System

As succcessful online marketers we were happy to meet online and work with a wonderful apprentice, Donald Brown, Jr.  Donald has been a big help to us on many projects and he has been able to learn much by working with us.

During a conversation, Donald was telling us of his struggles of getting employment due to his being legally blind.  He said there were many others out there like himself who are smart and motivated yet are unemployed or under-employed.  We offered to open the apprenticeship to other blind and visually impaired people who are interested in finding out more about marketing online.

It is fitting that the newly expanded member’s site and blog launches today since today is Donald’s birthday.  Happy Birthday Donald!!

We have been blessed to meet so many wonderful people through this program and it has been a pleasure working with them.  On this blog we will be sharing success stories of both our members and others who are blind or visually impaired.  We’ll also cover many topics and news items of relevance to our members.