An Eye on vision Issues
Volume One – Issue Two
Week of January:
1/8/ - 1/15/2012

I. Education/Training/Employment:

Presently, I live in Urbana, Illinois. When I first moved to Illinois I opened a case with the Department of Rehabilitation and started working on obtaining a job with a call center located in the city. I needed to develop my skills and was sent to the training center in Chicago to complete the necessary training.
The training center I attended is called; “Illinois Center for Rehabilitation and Education Wood. The facility is a full service residential or commuter program. The center teaches skills to the visually impaired/blind residents of Illinois. The students are provided with an instructional program according to the specific needs of each client. After, going through an intensive skills/needs assessment, each student works with a counselor to set up and implement an individualized program constructed to meet their needs. The average length of a program is 12 weeks.
For more information call: 1-888-261-7913 or visit the website:
www.dhs.state.il.us/page.aspx?item=32296

II. Health/Medical Issue:

The vision issues article topic for the second week of January is pink eye. The article discusses the eye disease including types of pink eye, causes, symptoms, treatment, and prevention. Learn specific information about pink eye from the Center for disease Control (CDC). Take a few moments and visit the website to learn more. Don’t forget to visit the vision issues forum and join the group. Become part of the vision issues community. We welcome your input. Thanks.

III. Federal/State/Local Government Issues:

Computer and Internet accessibility for people with disabilities continues to develop. As computers and the Internet become a larger part of our world equal access to the technology becomes a legal issue. Improving the potential of the Internet for people with disabilities must be included when designing items for the Internet. Sections 504 and 508 of the Americans with disabilities Act provides the guidelines for web designers to follow when constructing websites and web pages.
A training program called Web Aim developed by the Center for People with disabilities located in the state of Utah and part of Utah University focuses on teaching other groups about the legal requirements of the American with Disabilities Act.
Do you know if a website is accessible or not? Learn what items are required according to section 508 of the American with Disabilities Act by visiting the website below. You will find a checklist of items required for a website to be accessible to all Internet users. Check it out!
http://webaim.org/standards/508/checklist

IV. Visually Impaired/Blind Achiever:

Canadian Brian McKeever is a legally blind cross-country skier who has won 3 gold medals in the 2010 Paralympics one kilometer cross-country event. Although Brian’s Olympics dreams did not come true he has continued to represent the visually impaired/blind community with honor.
I believe visually impaired/blind athletes must continue to strive to break through the barriers preventing them from competing in Olympic events appropriate for the athlete’s ability. I do not expect visually impaired/blind athletes to be given a place on an Olympic team unearned. But if the athlete can compete and even perform better than a sighted athlete then, the visually impaired/blind athlete should be given an equal opportunity. Being excluded from a sporting event because of a disability is unfair. At least, the visually and physically disabled athletes should be allowed to compete at tryouts just like our sighted counter parts. Good luck to all athletes in the 2012 Olympics or Paralympics.

V. Editor Notes:

A. Organization/Website of the Week:
Center for Disease Control CDC
The Center for disease Control is a helpful website for everyone. The information on the website is organized and easy to understand. When I began the article on pink eye I visited the CDC website and was amazed at the amount of material provided. If you have never visited the CDC site then, take a few minutes and browse the information available. You will learn new information on a variety of topics. Best of luck!
www.cdc.gov

B. Sport/Craft/Hobby of the Week:
Cross-country ski trip:
American Blind Skiing foundation is a non-profit organization offering cross-country skiing trips. The foundation plans cross-country skiing trips to Breckenridge Colorado for visually impaired/blind individuals across the USA. If you are interested in making a ski trip then, here’s the contact information: e-mail – absf.absf.org or web address – www.absf.org. Happy skiing!

C. Editor Special Notes:

Remember to visit the vision issues forum. You will find several different threads to choose from on a variety of topics. Please, post your comments and thoughts. I always enjoy hearing from you. Tell me your stories. Who knows? You may help someone find a solution to a problem.

**A new article is posted every Monday on the Bella Online vision issues website. So, make sure and stop by for a visit.

Also, if you know a friend or someone who would benefit from the vision issues site please, pass on the newsletter and website information. Thanks in advance.

Until next time - Best to luck!