Tuesday, Aug. 28, 2001 | 10:54 a.m.
One of the reasons the Blinded Veterans Association is opening its national convention exhibit hall to the general public is because the organization wants sighted people to see that blind people are normal.
Another is to let the public see the many technological advances that allow the blind to enjoy many of the comforts of everyday life the sighted often take for granted.
"You will see that we lead pretty routine lives," said Thomas Miller, executive director of the BVA who as a Marine in Vietnam 34 years ago was permanently and totally blinded by an exploding land mine.
"How many times have I heard people say that if they go blind they would rather die? Sure it is a challenge every day to know you will go to bed not being able to see anything and wake up the same way each morning. But we cope on a daily basis."
The 56th National Convention of the Blinded Veterans Association begins today and runs through Saturday at the Riviera hotel-casino. About 200 members will represent the 9,500-member organization at the conference, where officials hope to pass resolutions that will get the attention of lawmakers to better assist blinded veterans and blind people in general. This is the first time the convention has been held in Las Vegas. It was held in Reno in 1991 and 1997.
"Sure there is a challenge for us to meet, but I like the challenge of being blind -- I joined the Army because I wanted the challenge," said George Brummell, who also lost his eyesight to a land mine in Vietnam at age 20. He is now 56 and in charge of national field services for the BVA.
"There are a lot of veterans services that many veterans do not know they are entitled to," he said. "You don't have to have been blinded in a war. Your blindness could have developed as a result of the aging process. One of the services available at the VA (Veterans Administration) hospital is rehabilitation and mobility training for simple daily activities."
Brummell said the closest VA blind services center to Las Vegas is in Tucson, Ariz.
Another concern of the organization is that many veterans do not know about "low vision services" available to veterans.
"There are many misconceptions, including one that veterans think they have to be totally blind," Miller, 59, said. "The fact is that only 10-12 percent of our members are totally blind. And while benefits for those who lose their sight because of the aging process are not as comprehensive as for those who are service connected, it is still important that people know what benefits are available."
Resolutions passed at past conventions have led to better coordinated efforts for the blind.
For example, at last year's convention in Anaheim, Calif., the BVA called for a consolidation of prosthetic service companies and organizations. As a result, the National Prosthetic & Sensory Aids Service & Blind Rehabilitation Conference is running through Wednesday, also at the Riviera.
Other issues to be tackled this week by the BVA, a nonprofit organization that was chartered by Congress in 1958, include better accessibility for the blind at voting booths and improved pedestrian signals that offer audio warnings to assist in crossing streets.
VA statistics indicate that 5,000 veterans become blind or visually impaired each year and that the main causes are accidents, diseases and health problems related to aging.
The latest products to help the blind achieve independence will be on display.
"Our products target only one-half of 1 percent of the population -- and most of that is the senior market -- but they are important because they are designed to help blind people in their work lives or recreational lives," said Charles Wright, representing the Freedom Scientific booth, one of a record 32 exhibitors at this year's convention.
"We provide the computer hardware and software that makes it possible for computers to talk to people -- and the devices can be used without the person having a lot of computer knowledge."
On one of his devices, a document with typeset print is placed on the screen and the hood is closed. The blind person uses a simple key pad that enables the machine to read the print aloud.
Another of Wright's wares is the Braille Millennium 20 note-taker that 32-year-old blind mountain-climber Erik Weihenmeyer took to the top of Mount Everest during a climb earlier this year.
Other technologically advanced instruments to be unveiled this week include bank note readers, beeping key rings and a device that tells blind shoppers the item they are holding and its price.
But despite all of the bells and whistles that can make life easier for the blind, often the biggest obstacle to blind people is the ignorance of the sighted population.
"We are working to overcome the image that many people still have of the blind -- the man standing on the corner with a tin cup selling pencils or the belief that the only kind of jobs we can do is develop X-rays in a dark room," Miller said.
"The people in our organization travel independently and make rational decisions."
archive
