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A QUARTERLY PUBLICATION OF:
THE AMERICAN COUNCIL OF THE BLIND OF MINNESOTA
P O BOX 7341
MINNEAPOLIS MN 55407
The views expressed in this newsletter are not necessarily the position of the American Council of the Blind of Minnesota. They are the views of the article's author. Product and service information is provided as a resource only and not as an endorsement of a particular product or service.
Jo Taliaferro, Editor
E-mail: soaringeagle7@comcast.net
Bob Lockwood
E-mail: peggy_bob@msn.com
Carolyn Coby, Webmaster
E-mail: cs_coby@hotmail.com
ACBM Info Express - (612)-486-5180, our telephone news and information hotline provides relevant information between scheduled business meetings. Please keep yourself informed by calling regularly. The hotline is a great place for you to give feedback to the board as well. You can also contact any board member using the information provided at the end of this issue of the Minnesota Memo.
The deadline for article submission for the Fall MN Memo is Sept. 15, 2009. We thank those who have passed along information and contributed articles for the summer issue.
Note: Article titles are marked with *** for easy searching.
Hello fellow ACBM members. Several of us from Minnesota are getting ready to travel to Orlando for our annual convention. I believe we will have 8 Minnesotans in attendance. We look forward to sharing our convention experiences with you at the July quarterly meeting on 7/25.
In June the board gathered to discuss plans for the upcoming year. We have openings
on the following committees:
Membership
Budget
Projects
Scholarship
All board members are willing to work on committees for ACBM but we need and want membership participation. This is your organization please consider getting involved. Our organization is only as strong as its membership. Speaking of involvement, our scholarship committee selected its two winners for the 2009-2010 school year so please join us in honoring them at our quarterly meeting on July 25th.
Chelah Ryan one of our newest members has asked for a few minutes to talk about her work as a personal fitness trainer and information regarding nutrition. Her request got me to thinking. Do you have a special skill or talent that would be of interest to our membership? Would you like to share it at a quarterly meeting? If so let me know. We could feature a member at each quarterly meeting.
We had a focus group at our July 2008 meeting but unfortunately at least half of the notes taken from that meeting were lost due to a computer glitch. One of the things that was mentioned was more member input at meetings. Comments made about the ACBM board were, "I think one thing is that sometimes they tend to be too much in charge. They dominate meetings sometimes. Their agenda is so packed that we can't finish it let alone discuss what we want to." So, what would you like to have covered at our quarterly meetings? The board is always open to your suggestions! There was also discussion about having a link on our website where someone could email the entire board, this has been discussed and board members who are more computer savvy than I are trying to make that happen. Social gatherings were also discussed during the focus groups. It was mentioned that we used to have a holiday party. We did stop doing that several years ago due to lack of attendance and difficulty finding a location that met cost concerns. If anyone is interested in reviving this tradition talk to Amy our Projects Committee chair.
We have also obtained a new tape duplicator so those of you who receive the memo on cassette should no longer have difficulty with the tapes.
The state rehab council is still looking for applicants, it would be great to have some ACBM members apply. As a side note most of you already know that Chuk Hamilton is retiring as director of SSB. Personally I will miss him very much. He has always been honest, fair and approachable.
I look forward to seeing you at the July quarterly meeting and our picnic/auction.
As always please feel free to contact me with any questions, concerns or suggestions at (651) 428-5059, or Janet.Dickelman@comcast.net. You can also leave a message on info express: 612-486-5180.
Janet Dickelman, President, ACBM
Hello everyone. Who doesn’t love a great cup of coffee and good conversation? I know I do! As your newest board member I would like to invite you to take part in a brand new sustaining fundraiser for ACBM, the Dunn Bros Community Giving Program.
Dunn Bros Coffee has provided ACBM with Community Giving cards for each of our
members, family or friends. The cards are free and can be used as a Community Giving
card and/or a prepaid gift card. They cards may be used at any participating Dunn Bros
Coffee shop. After 120 days of our program launch (July 15th), Dunn Bros will donate
10% of the net bean and beverage sales proceeds made by our members back to our
organization. If our donation is more than $150, we can choose to participate for
another 120 days! We have received 50 giving cards and we’ll be handing out the cards
to those who would like to participate in this sustaining fundraiser for ACBM at the
July 18 Dunn Bros outing and at the ACBM picnic on August 22. Volunteers at the picnic
will need your name, e-mail address and street address to send in to Dunn Bros so your
card can be activated. You can easily register your card on-line and Dunn Bros will
email you a coupon for a FREE CUP OF COFFEE (or half-off any beverage) so that you can
take advantage of this free coffee offer when you pick up your card. Here is the web site:
http://www.cardmarketingservices.com/dunnbros/signup_franchisees/
Hope to see all of you at Dunn Bros in July or at the ACBM picnic!
How can you be social, have fun, stick to your budget and help others all at once? Join us for an afternoon at the ballpark as the St. Paul Saints and Foundation Fighting Blindness (FFB) team up to raise funds to benefit the 2009 Twin Cities VisionWalk. The game is on Sunday, August 9 at 1:05 p.m. $15 tickets ($23 value) include game ticket, hot dog and soda, and a 2009 Saints hat - a great bargain and a great way to spend an afternoon with family, friends, or co-workers!
Have fun and help support our cause! Tickets can be ordered online or by mail. Groups are welcome. Please share this opportunity with all of your contacts, and call or write with any questions.
With your help, a cure is in sight!
Julie Anderson
Chair, 2009 Twin Cities VisionWalk
763-416-3900
juliefromtheblock@comcast.net
www.visionwalk.org
There are many, many audio described shows available this summer. Listed below are the show titles and contact information so that you can get show dates and times.
Great River Shakespeare Festival
Location: Winona State University Performing Arts Center at Johnson & 10th (Howard) streets
AD: not scheduled, but reduced price tickets for anyone visually impaired plus one guest
for performances and Front Porch Conversations.
Website: www.grsf.org
When We Are Married, by J.B. Priestley
Location: Guthrie Theater, Wurtele Thrust Stage, 818 2nd St. S., Minneapolis.
AD: Saturday, July 25, 1:00 PM; Sensory Tour 10:30 AM; Friday, July 31, 7:30 PM.
Tix: Reduced to $20 for AD (regular $18-34); phone: 612-377-2224, TTY 612-377-6626,
Website: www.guthrietheater.org/accessibility
Room Service, by John Murray & Allen Boretz, directed by John Gaspard
Location: Theatre in the Round, 245 Cedar Ave., Minneapolis
AD: Sunday, July 26, 2:00 PM, tactile tour at 1:00,
Tix: $20, senior/student discount; phone: 612-333-3010,
Website: www.theatreintheround.org
Minnesota Fringe Festival - July 30 - August 9
Audio Described shows to be announced in July
For a daily recording of shows presented with AD or ASL, call the MACT Hotline at
612-706-1456 or 800-290-2428 and go to box 4. If you learn through "the buzz" of
another show that you would love to have interpreted or described, contact the Fringe
office at 612-872-1212 or email robin@fringefestival.org and they will attempt to find
an ASL interpreter or audio describer.
Tix: A $4 Fringe button is required of all attendees. Attend one show for $12 ($10 for
seniors, students and Minnesota Public Radio members), get a five-show punch pass for
$50, a ten-show punch pass for $90, or an Ultra Pass for unlimited shows for $150.
Punch cards are transferable and may be used by multiple people to attend one
performance (as long as everyone has a button). Fringe box offices accept cash, checks
and credit cards and open 30 minutes before each show time. Advance reservations ($2
fee) guarantee your seat. However, people using access services can make FREE
reservations by using the code "access" over the phone or online. Tickets can be
reserved online at www.fringefestival.org or by calling OvationTix at 866-811-4111.
Website: www.fringefestival.org will have the full Fringe schedule starting on July 1. Use
customized sort functions to find shows you'll like, write audience reviews, or create
your own Fringe schedule.
The Syringa Tree, by Pamela Gien
Location: Jungle Theater, 2951 Lyndale Ave. S., Minneapolis
AD: Thursday, August 6, 7:30 PM
Tix: Reduced to $10 (regular $24-36); phone: 612-822-7063
Website: www.jungletheater.com
Thoroughly Modern Millie, Music by: Jeanine Tesori, New Lyrics by: Dick Scanlan, Book by Richard Morris and Dick Scanlan
Location: Bloomington Center for the Arts Schneider Theater, 1800 W. Old Shakopee Rd.
AD: Friday, August 28, 7:30 PM
Tix: Reduced to $18 (regular $25, senior $22, student $19); phone: 952-563-8575
Website: www.bloomingtoncivictheatre.org
Minnesota State Fair: August 27 - September 7, 2009
Requests for Audio Describers for Grandstand Shows must be made two weeks in advance.
Call 651-288-4448 or 651-642-2372 (TTY) or e-mail tickets@mnstatefair.org or
guestservices@mnstatefair.org.
Assistive listening devices are available for free during Grandstand events. Pick up
receivers and headsets at the guest services office in Visitors Plaza (valid state ID
and credit card required for deposit).
The 2009 State Fair Accessibility Guide (available for download in early August) will
include more information. To order a copy, call or send your name, address and zip
code to: Access Mail List, MN State Fair, 1265 Snelling Ave. N., St. Paul, MN 55108,
or accessibility@mnstatefair.org.
Tix: Online, at the Minnesota State Fair box office, 651-288-4400 or 288-4448;
TTY 651-642-2372; or with Ticketmaster, 651-989-5151 or www.ticketmaster.com (subject
to convenience charge). General admission tickets to the Fairgrounds at the gate are
$11 (ages 13-64), $9 (65 & over), $8 (ages 5-12), free under 5. Thrifty Thursday:
August 27. Seniors & Kids Day: August 31. Ticket Deal Tuesday: Sept. 1. Read & Ride
Day: Sept. 2. Seniors Day: Sept. 3. Kids Day: Sept. 4. Pre-fair discount admission
tickets are available online thru Aug. 18 and at Cub Foods thru Aug. 26.
Location: 1265 Snelling Ave. N., St. Paul 55108
Website: www.mnstatefair.org
ACCESSIBLE MOVIES: The following movie complexes in Minnesota offer a variety of captioning or description services. Contact the theatres below for showtimes of their accessible films. For MoPix-equipped Rear Window Captioned Films, go to ncam.wgbh.org/mopix/nowshowing.html#mn. The cinemas are:
Science Museum of Minnesota Omnitheater -
Films shown at the Omnitheater often offer accessible features (CC: Closed Rear View
Captioning; AD: Audio Description; or Spanish translation).
To request accommodations for exhibits, call at least 72 hours in advance: 651-221-9406.
Open Monday-Wednesday 9:30-5:00, Thursday-Saturday 9:30-9:00, Sunday 12:00-5:00.
Contact info: 120 Kellogg Blvd. W., St. Paul 55102, 651-221-9444, option 1 for film
times, reservations or questions; TTY 651-221-4585; info@smm.org;
Accessibility: www.smm.org/accessibility;
Hours & Showtimes: www.smm.org/hours.
Kerasotes Block E Stadium 15, 600 Hennepin Ave., third floor, Minneapolis 55403;
612-338-1466, bloc@kerasotes.com. Accessible films in Auditoriums 2 & 12.
(NOTE: DVS patrons: If your show is in Theatre 2, request headset with Letter C. If
your show is in Theatre 12, request headset with Letter G.) Enter parking ramp on 7th
Street next to the Hard Rock Café.
www.kerasotes.com/Showtimes.aspx?OptionTheater=Go&TheaterSearch=8630 (Scroll
down the lower right-hand column every Friday morning to see what two films will have
rear view captioning or DVS that week at Block E.)
AMC Eden Prairie Mall 18 Theatres, 8251 Flying Cloud Drive Suite 4000, Eden Prairie 55344
(Eden Prairie Shopping Center, Hwy 212 & 494), 952-656-0010; movie listings: 952-229-4262.
Park in upper level lot between Sears & Kohl's.
Accessible films in Auditorium 4.
www.amctheatres.com or
www.moviewatcher.com/index.html
or www.moviewatcher.com/jsp/amg.jsp.
Email 0650@amctheatres.com
AMC Rosedale 14 Theatres, 850 Rosedale Center, Roseville 55113 (Rosedale Center,
Hwy 36 & Snelling Ave.), 651-604-9347.
Accessible films in Auditorium 14. www.amctheatres.com or
www.moviewatcher.com/index.html
or www.moviewatcher.com/jsp/amg.jsp.
Email 0651@amctheatres.com.
Oakdale Ultrascreen Cinemas (Marcus Theatres), 5677 Hadley Ave. N., Oakdale 55128
(I-694 & Hwy 36 next to Fleet Farm); 651-770-4994; Rental & Meeting info: 651-779-3795.
This cinema uses DTS® (Digital Theatre Systems, Inc.) to superimpose open-captions over the
bottom of select movies. Subscribe to an Open Caption weekly e-mailer at
www.marcustheatres.com/theater.cfm?theater_id=2506.
Lakes 10 Theatre, 4351 Stebner Rd., Hermantown, and Duluth 10 Theatre, 300 Harbor
Drive, Duluth 55811; Movie Line 218-729-0335; Emergency Line 218-729-0334;
Fax 218-729-0334; Email: Sfennessey@cectheatres.com.
Theatre 6 at Lakes 10 offers Rear Window Captioning and DVS when available.
"MARK YOUR CALENDARS!" - Here are a few Twin Cities entertainment venues that don't always publicize their accessible performances. If you hear of or arrange ASL or AD, please let us know and we will publicize them.
Actors Theater of Minnesota - Tony & Tina's Wedding, ongoing; Drama Camp for Young Actors, August 3-8 - Lowry Theater, 350 St. Peter St., St. Paul. phone: 651-227-2464, TicketMaster 612-673-0404; www.actorsmn.org
Brave New Workshop - Brave New Workshop Saves the Plan; or Yes We Can, But Do We Have to? Previews begin July 9, opens July 17 -- 2605 Hennepin Ave. S., Mpls. phone: 612-332-6620, www.bravenewworkshop.org/
Bryant-Lake Bowl - 810 W. Lake St., Mpls. phone: 612-825-8949, www.bryantlakebowl.com
Cedar Cultural Center - 416 Cedar Ave. S., Mpls. phone: 612-338-2674, www.thecedar.org
Chanhassen Dinner Theatres - Always. Patsy Cline, thru Oct. 31 in the Fireside Theatre; Joseph & the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, thru Sept. 26; Oklahoma!, Oct. 2 - Jan. 23, 2010; Nunset Boulevard by Dan Goggins, opens Nov. 6 in the Fireside Theatre - 501 W. 78th Street, Chanhassen; phone: 952-934-1525 or 80 ongoing 0-362-3515, www.chanhassentheatres.com
Intermedia Arts - Discover Minneapolis: An Artist's Perspective, opening reception July 24; 2822 Lyndale Ave. S., Mpls. phone: 612-871-4444, www.intermediaarts.org.
Old Log Theater - Funny Money, thru Sept. 26; Treasure Island: thru July 25; special events on Monday summer nights at 7:30; Radio Gals, Oct. 9 - Feb. 6, 2010; Hansel & Gretel, Nov. 10 - Dec. 31 -- 5185 Meadville Street, Greenwood (Excelsior); phone: 952-474-5951, 800-328-4827 ext. 4328, www.oldlog.com
Ordway Center for the Performing Arts - 345 Washington, St. Paul; phone: 651-224-4222, TTY 651-282-3099, www.ordway.org/accessibility
O'Shaughnessy Auditorium - College of St. Catherine, 2004 Randolph Ave., St. Paul; phone: 651-690-6700, 651-989-5151, oshaughnessy.stkate.edu
Plymouth Playhouse - Church Basement Ladies: A Second Helping now playing; Away in the Basement: A Church Basement Ladies Christmas, opens Nov. 5 - 2705 Annapolis Lane, Plymouth (Best Western & Green Mill); phone: 763-553-1600, www.plymouthplayhouse.com
Southern Theater - Wordless Music Series: June 30; Minneapolis Guitar Quartet with Colette Illarde: July 10-12; Momentum: New Dance Works 2009: July 16-25; Vanessa Voskuil: en masse, and Sachiko Nishiuchi: The Apple Tree: July 16-18; Sally Rousse, Megan Mayer: July 23-25; Cassandra & Jawaahir Dance Company: August 13-23; Sopranorama: August 28 - Sept. 6 - 1420 Washington Ave. S., Mpls. phone: 612-340-1725, www.southerntheater.org/
State/Orpheum/Pantages/Hennepin Stages theatres -- ASL/AD offered if requested in
advance -Orpheum; One Man Minneapolis: July 18, Pantages; Lyle Lovett: July 23, State;
Hippiefest: July 28, State; Dream Theater, with Zappa Plays Zappa: August 21,
Orpheum; Loggins & Messina: Sept. 1, State;
Highland Heartbeat: Sept. 2, State. -
Hennepin Stages, 824 Hennepin Ave. S.; Historic Orpheum Theatre, 910 Hennepin Ave. S.;
Historic State Theatre, 805 Hennepin Ave. S.; Pantages Theatre, 710 Hennepin Ave. S., all in Mpls.
Phone: 612-373-5639 or 5609; hotline 612-373-5650; TTY 612-373-5655;
Email: accessible@orpheum.com;
www.hennepintheatredistrict.org/guestservices/aslad/
Target Center - Earth, Wind & Fire and Chicago: July 1; Jonas Brothers: July 8;
Green Day: July 11; Beyonce: July 16; The Fray: July 21; Moody Blues: August 6;
Demi Lovato: August 8; Rod Stewart: August 18; Daniel O'Donnell: August 20;
American Idols Live Tour: Sept. 1 - 600 First Ave. N., Mpls. phone: 612-673-1313, 612-673-1300,
www.targetcenter.com/
Walker Art Center - 1750 Hennepin Ave., Mpls. phone: 612-375-7609,
www.walkerart.org/ or
info.walkerart.org/visit/disability.wac
Xcel Energy Center - No Doubt: July 5; Il Divo: July 8; Jason Mraz: August 20;
Aerosmith: Sept. 8 - 175 W. Kellogg Blvd., St. Paul; phone: 651-726-8240;
TicketMaster 651-989-5151;
http://www.xcelenergycenter.com/
As the former Chair and ACB of Minnesota representative on the Minnesota State Council for the Blind (SRC-B), I kept meetings to the business at hand and tried to be as organizationally balanced as possible during Council meetings. At the June 2009 meeting, the new Chair, Federationist Judy Sanders, took a different approach. Judy shared a vignette, which she believed would be edifying to Council members and the audience.
Judy was attending a rehabilitation meeting, and during the break, a woman approached her and asked if Judy would like the woman to get coffee for her. Judy said "no thank you" and got the coffee herself. Then the same woman asked if Judy would like an elbow to get back into the meeting. Judy told us she wanted to say that she had two elbows of her own, but she restrained herself and politely declined. The woman commented that Judy was the first-ever blind person to refuse her help. Judy asked where she worked, and the woman replied the Massachusetts Commission for the Blind. The woman had been a supervisor there for six months and learned the most from her blind employees. Judy told the woman to look for another blind woman from Minnesota at the conference later in the week. Then Judy warned the other blind woman (also a Federationist) not to accept this woman's help.
Of course the implied lesson was that we all should be model blind people by not accepting assistance when we can do things ourselves. Also by implication, accepting help for things we are capable of doing ourselves is not being a model blind person. As we've undoubtedly heard many times from similar NFB philosophers, accepting that help is subjecting ourselves to second class citizenship and buying into old stereotypes about the blind.
I may not accept the guiding assistance, but it has nothing to do with feeling demeaned. I use a guide dog, and the "follow" command is handy for a situation in which a group of people is headed to the same room. In a crowd, sighted guide with three across (sighted guide, blind person and dog) can feel awkward.
In my own home, I use a liquid level indicator when pouring hot liquid. A liquid indicator has a couple of prongs attached to a battery. The prongs go into the cup. When liquid touches the prongs, the indicator beeps which tells me I have a full cup. With cold liquid, I use my finger. Some claim that one can use the temperature of the outside of the cup to know when to stop pouring. This hasn't been a successful method for me, because I find it takes a little extra time for the cup to heat to alert me my cup is full. I don't generally take a liquid indicator to meetings, but it is one solution to the pouring problem. Without a liquid level indicator and not wanting to chance the outside-the-cup method, the remaining alternative is to use a finger.
I sat through the rest of the meeting until the next break and decided to get my own cup of coffee from the machine in the cafeteria. The machine did its own pouring, so I only had to get the coffee back to my place in the meeting room. The cup was full, and as my dog and I were making our way very slowly to avoid spilling, a group of people came toward us quickly! A sighted lady saw what was happening and offered to take my cup to my seat. She jokingly said she might spill it too, but I knew she might be more adept at quickly sidestepping multiple people along the way. Because I don't enjoy the possibility of having coffee for which I paid spilled, I accepted. When I arrived back in the meeting room, I somehow brought up the coffee vignette and said that I didn't enjoy burning my fingers. One Federationist's advice was to not use my Braille finger. So Federationists do acknowledge the possibility of burning oneself, But in the name of independence, they're willing to take that chance.
Another ACB member and I talked to a couple people about this vignette, and the responses we received were similar. Apparently, we blind people and those with other disabilities aren't the only targets for kind offers of help. Believe it or not, both disabled and nondisabled people help each other too! Perhaps we don't need to see the offer of help as a sign we are being pitied or treated as second class citizens. It is a possibility. But more likely, people may want to be nice and/or socialize with us.
To conclude, there are those who would rather endure the possibility of burning themselves in order to avoid the possibility of someone thinking they are not independent. I'd rather save my valuable fingers and find other ways to gain people's respect.
July 25th – Quarterly Membership Meeting and Scholarship winners announcement (Josephs
Grill in St. Paul, noon to 4:00PM)
August 5th – Last day to pay for Daily-3 tickets
August 12th – Daily-3 fundraiser starts
August 21st – Daily-3 fundraiser ends
August 22nd – Annual picnic and auction fundraiser at the home of Anna Olsen,
6211 Sheridan Avenue South, Richfield (noon to 4:00PM)
October 24th – Quarterly Membership meeting and budget approval (Josephs Grill in St.
Paul, noon to 4:00PM)
October 26th – Start of Bachman’s gift card fundraiser
November 13th – End of Bachman’s gift card fundraiser
Note that there are standing meetings that occur throughout the year. The ACBM Board of Directors meets on the third Monday of every month from 6:30PM to 8:30PM in the community room of the Lunds market on West Lake Street in Minneapolis. Dunn Brothers coffee outings occur on the third Saturday of each month from 10AM to Noon at the Dunn Bros coffee shop located at 1915 South Lyndale Ave. in Minneapolis.
Roger Behm lost his sight at 16, the victim of an inherited disease that destroyed his retinas. Both of his eyes were surgically removed. Now 55, Behm has made himself at home in a sightless world. He started his own business in Janesville selling devices that help the blind cope with day-to-day tasks. He and his wife have raised five children and just adopted another child from China who is also blind. He fishes, canoes, camps and scuba dives. But Behm can remember seeing. Which is why he couldn't believe it when, three years ago, he slipped a device over his head, turned it on, and was once again able to discern light and dark, shapes and shadows, letters and numbers, and even a rolling golf ball. "I could look down and and see the ball, white on black, and I could see myself swinging my putter," Behm said. "And, of course, I missed. But I could reach down and pick up my ball, like any other sighted person."
The device is called BrainPort and, though it seems like a gadget from Star Trek, it may be available commercially by the end of the year. It works by converting images from a video camera to electrical impulses that are transmitted via the tongue to the brain of the blind person and turned again into black-and-white images that the user sees. It takes advantage of groundbreaking work by a UW-Madison scientist that showed the brain will reprogram itself to accept and use different sensory signals - in this case touch instead of sight - to replace signals that can no longer be received due to injury or disease.
The device, which consists of a miniature camera mounted on a pair of sunglasses, a tongue sensor and a small control unit, was developed by Wicab of Middleton. It builds on another of the company's devices that uses the same underlying ideas to help restore users' balance.
The company is applying to the federal Food and Drug Administration to get approval for a marketable version of the vision device that could be available by the end of the year, Wicab CEO Robert Beckman said.
Few have tested BrainPort under more trying circumstances than Erik Weihenmayer, the only blind man to reach the summit of Mt. Everest. Weihenmayer, totally blind since the age of 16, has used the device to help him hike in the woods, even ascend climbing walls. But he has most appreciated it for letting him do such simple but rewarding tasks as playing tic-tac-toe with his daughter or reaching down to pet his dog.
"I have a climbing friend who didn't believe me when I told him about this," Weihenmayer said. "So he put a Pepsi can on my table in my kitchen while I was out of the room. Then he called me back in and told me to grab it. I reached out and grabbed the Pepsi can. He was blown away. He was speechless. He had tears in his eyes.
"I mean, it may not seem like a real big deal to people, but to be able to see your coffee cup ... ."
Neither Behm nor Weihenmayer are paid consultants to Wicab, although the company pays some of their expenses.
The late Paul Bach-y-Rita, a UW-Madison physician and specialist in rehabilitation, first came up with the ideas that inspired BrainPort in the 1960s. The technology was patented by UW-Madison in 1998, and commercial development has been under way for more than 10 years.
Bach-y-Rita's earliest thinking about the brain's ability to adapt to new ways of receiving and processing information - its "plasticity," as it is known now - was likely sparked by the dramatic struggle of his father, Pedro, to recover from a devastating stroke in the mid-1960s, Beckman said. Neurologists in those days believed brain damage could not be reversed. But Bach-y-Rita's brother, George, soon put their father to work doing chores such as sweeping the porch of the house. Forced to accomplish more and more difficult tasks, their father eventually recovered completely and even went back to his job teaching.
He died at the age of 73 of a heart attack while climbing in the mountains of Columbia.
Remarkably, studies of Pedro's brain after his death showed massive damage to his brain from the stroke. Yet he recovered. Somehow, his brain had found new ways to work.
At the UW-Madison, Bach-y-Rita focused his studies on sensory substitution, the idea that the brain can learn how to use other senses to replace one that has been lost or damaged. He concentrated on the power of touch, studying what happens in the brain when visual cues come from the sensitive nerves of the skin, such as those on the fingertips.
Those studies buttressed others that showed the brain can indeed learn how to use nerve impulses, delivered through touch, to create images. Exactly what happens remains somewhat of a mystery. But more recently, MRI images taken of the brain while it is working do show the visual cortex of the brain lighting up when receiving sensory data retrieved through touch.
"The information does get to the area of the brain that is responsible for vision," said Kurt Kaczmarek, a UW-Madison engineer and scientist who was involved in the early work on BrainPort.
The tongue is the perfect organ for the task, Beckman said, because it is moist and an excellent transmitter of electrical signals, and it has more tactile nerve endings than any other part of the body except for the lips. Though one can read the science over and over again, it still requires somewhat of a leap of faith to grasp the idea of "seeing" through the tongue. Simply, the patterns of light picked up by the camera are converted by a tiny computer into electrical pulses across 100 stainless steel electrodes. Users say it feels similar to touching a weak battery to your tongue, a bubbly or tingling sensation. The pulses are spatially encoded, meaning the person receiving those signals on the tongue can perceive depth, perspective, size and shape. That information is translated by the brain into images - fuzzy images, because of the low resolution, but images nonetheless. Those who have used the device explain that they perceive the objects in front of them, separate from their own bodies.
Weihenmayer recalled how when he first tried BrainPort, the researchers sat him down at a table, fitted him with the device, and then rolled a ball toward him. "It's a hard thing to wrap your brain around," said Weihenmayer. "But when they rolled a white tennis ball toward me, I could feel the ball rolling. First I could feel the ball starting at the back of my tongue and getting bigger and bigger, coming toward me. And then I reached out and grabbed it."
When he ascends a rock climbing wall with BrainPort, Weihenmayer said, he can see the handholds, their differences in shape and the contrast in light between them and the background. What he sees, he explained, is largely shapes and light variations, sort of an out-of-focus image.
Last month, Weihenmayer joined Beckman at the National Eye Institute's 40th anniversary celebration to demonstrate BrainPort and some of its powers. It seemed a milestone of sorts. But the man whose genius led to the creation of such a useful invention was not present. Bach-y-Rita died of cancer in November of 2006. "He would have loved to have been there," said Beckman.
Some of your favorite Dr. Seuss characters arrive in Maple Grove this summer. Please come and join us for our Audio Described performance of Seussical, the musical free of charge. The AD performance is on Friday, July 24th, 7:30 PM at Maple Grove Senior High School. Audio description will be provided by Laurie Pape Hadley. For this production, we are offering two complimentary tickets to anyone utilizing the audio description services at this performance. This offer is good up until Monday, July 20th. To reserve an audio receiver and two complimentary tickets, call our message line, 763-391-ARTS (2787) and leave a message on box number 3.
Additional ticket prices are $16 for adults, $14 for seniors (62+), $10 for students (11 – college) and $10 for children (10 and under), and a group rate of $14 (for quantities of 20 or more). Please bring a non-perishable food item for each ticket reserved. If you have any questions, feel free to leave a message on our message line or e-mail me directly at gmsvitak@yahoo.com
Help needed for research project: If you would invite just one friend or family
member to visit the Built Environment Research Project's webpage (BUILT ENVIRONMENT
Measuring Design Effectiveness), that would be a huge help. The person you invite
doesn't have to have any particular condition. In fact, we would like you to consider
inviting someone who currently has no condition that affects his or her performance of
routine activities. The reason is simple: we need to know how effective the environmental
designs presented in these Design Effectiveness surveys are whether or not the
participant has any particular condition.
Web: www.ap.buffalo.edu/idea
The Eye of The Needle: I NEED CRAFTY PEOPLE! Wouldn’t it be great to use our talents to help those who have no warm hats, mittens or blankets for winter? I have connections for ACBM members and friends who would like to do just that! Let’s get together to make it happen! Come crochet, knit, weave, chat, learn from one another: I know you’re out there so please call Jo Taliaferro at: 651-636-0404 so we can give to the communities where we live and work.
ACBM expresses sympathy to Ken Rodgers whose father died on June 12, 2009. We are sorry for your loss.
Janet Dickelman, President
St. Paul, MN
Phone: (651) 428-5059
E-mail:
Janet.Dickelman@comcast.net
Michael Malver, Vice-President
Minneapolis, MN
Phone: (612) 673-0664
E-mail: mmalver@visi.com
Sue Lindgren, Secretary
Minneapolis, MN
Phone: (612) 605-4526
E-mail: slindgren@mindspring.com
Catalina Roisum, Treasurer
Minneapolis, MN
Phone:
E-mail: catalina229@gmail.com
Chris Bell, Director
Roseville, MN
Phone: 612-859-4938
E-mail: christophergbell@comcast.net
Carolyn Coby, Director
Forest Lake, MN
Phone: (651) 464-5935
E-mail: cs_coby@hotmail.com
Amy Monthei, Director
Minneapolis, MN
Phone: 612-870-2886
E-mail: amymonthei@yahoo.com
Jo Taliaferro, Director
Roseville, MN
Phone: (651) 636-0404
E-mail: soaringeagle7@comcast.net
Jeff West, Director
Golden Valley, MN
Phone: (763) 544-5664
E-mail: westjeffm@comcast.net
