The following issue of The Bulletin was prepared by Deb Lewis (Statewide Vision Resource Centre).

Inside This Issue

- PD Program
- Parent Support Group Meeting - Report
- "Analysis of Support for Students with VI"
- Proposed PD Program For 2003
- Space Camp on the Web
- Space Camp Reunion - for all former Campers
- Vision Fatigue
- Round Table
- Glaucoma Meeting
- Texts on CD-ROM
- Reporting Vision Impaired Drivers
- Positive Parenting
- Victorian Public Transport Directory - 2001
- Photo Documentary
- Pets as Therapy
- VCE Exam Supervision
- Developing Awareness of Written Language for Braille Reading Children
- BrailleAlign
- Visugate
- Feeling the Computer
- Technology in the Home
- Mimio - New Version
- Retina Australia National Congress
- Portable Web Browser
- Search the Web by Email
- Early Language - Some Thoughts Christmas Idea - Dual Cycle
- Student and VT News

SVRC Professional Development 2002

PD Date Change (Reminder)

As stated in the last Bulletin, the Term IV PD day (SVRC Technology Seminars) will NOT be on December 13, but on MONDAY, DECEMBER 9. Please note: ALL WELCOME

Report on Meeting of Parent Support Group - October 19

Congratulations to the organisers of this meeting: John and Judy Bowen (parents of Glenn Bowen who is now 28 and doing well as a myotherapist!!), Leanne Heaven (mother of Lindsay and Johanna Heaven) and Annette Godfrey-Magee (who brought along her daughter and two of her daughter's friends to provide childcare to the younger participants)! The meeting was attended by about 25 parents and 8 children (plus the EVAC team). We heard from Nola Birch, Disability Liaison Officer at Melb Uni who spoke about the skills VI kids need for university and then Jill Keeffe who told us about the current 'Analysis' of services for VI and her research into the level at which vision impairment becomes a 'handicap'. There was plenty of discussion, questions and networking. The most valuable function of this group is to offer genuine support to parents who have had a recent and distressing diagnosis. This function was certainly fulfilled and plenty of 'phone numbers were exchanged.

The next meeting will be at John & Judy's place in Doncaster for a BBQ dinner on December 7th. Telephone 9842 5103 for details. John and Judy have a spa, so bring your bathers!

"Analysis of Support for Students with Vision Impairments"

Jill Keeffe has been employed as the consultant to carry out this analysis. She wishes to emphasise that it is an 'analysis' not a 'review'. It may lead to a review but the initial project is to get a 'snap shot' of the current situation, not to make recommendations for changes. A group of VTs has already met to compile a list of things Jill could look at and these will be submitted to her.

Proposed Professional Development Program: 2003

Below is a list of dates that you might find useful for your new diaries: School and public holidays for 2003

Term 1
School holidays - 21 December to 27 January
Australia day - 27 January
Labour day - 10 March

Term 2
School holidays - 12 April to 27 April
Good Friday - 18 April
Easter Monday - 21 April
Anzac Day - 25 April
Queen's Birthday - 9 June

Term 3
School holidays - 28 June to 13 July

Term 4
School holidays - 20 September to 5 October
Melbourne Cup Day - 4 November
School holidays - 20 December

Please Note
SVRC activities in the following program are open to anyone who is interested including: Visiting Teachers, integration staff (teachers and aides), class and subject teachers, therapists, parents, students and interested members of school communities.

Costs (including GST and a light lunch) for the activities are as follows:
Full day: Visiting Teachers - $20.00
Full day: All others - $30.00
Half day: Visiting Teachers - $13.50
Half day: All others - $17.50
One or two sessions with or without lunch - please call to enquire

SVRC Proposed Program

SVRC Toolkit - Friday 7 February (morning)
SVRC New Visiting Teacher PD Day - Thursday 20 February
SVRC Visiting Teacher PD Day - Friday 21 February
SVRC Educational Support for Brailling Students - Tuesday 11 March
SVRC Educational Support for Students with Low Vision - Monday 24 March
SVRC Educational Support for Vision Impaired Students with Additional Impairments - Wednesday 7 May
SVRC Visiting Teacher PD Day - Tuesday 10 June
SVRC Visiting Teacher PD Day - Friday 1 August
SPEVI Combined Agencies day - Monday 6 October
SVRC EXPO - Tuesday 2 December

We also plan to host a wide variety of hands-on half-day workshops including:
- Dr Naturally Speaking
- GT-Calc
- JAWS
- Mountbatten - beginners in the morning and users in the afternoon
- Orientation and Mobility for Visiting Teachers, integration aides and parents
- ZoomText

Do you have a suggestion for another workshop activity? Please call Deb Lewis on 9841 0242.

Space Camp on the Web (and in Ed Times)

For all of you sitting on the edges of your seats waiting for the Space Camp report and pics, wait no longer! You can find heaps of information and several pictures (with links to plenty more) on the SVRC website. Go to: www.svrc.vic.edu.au/spacecamp2002report.htm

Also, check out page 13 of the latest Education Times (Issue 17) - you'll find a report prepared by Anna Melbon and featuring a picture of Kyle constructing a pyramid! A copy is attached to the print copy of The Bulletin.

Space Camp Reunion!!! - For Anyone Who Has Ever Been To Space Camp

Victorian kids (and chaperones) have been attending Space Camp since 1998 when Jeni Blake and Lynne Murdoch took a group of DE&T kids and Sherry Cunningham took an RVIB group… So! We are going to get together! Everyone who has been to Space Camp from either the RVIB or the DE&T groups and of course their parents are welcome!

When: Sunday 24th November 2002 12.30pm to 2.30pm
Where: Sofia's Pizza Restaurant 857 Bourke Rd Camberwell (03)9882 1142
Bring: photos (optional)
Can VTs please pass this information on to their Space Campers and thanks to Sherry for organizing this event!

Vision Fatigue

Kerry Fitzmaurice spoke on this topic at the SPEVI Combined Agencies PD day on the first day of Term IV. She and Yvette Higgins have initiated research into this topic having found that not much has been written on it. Attached to this Bulletin is a list (partly from my notes from Kerry's talk) on symptoms and strategies. I (Marion) would love to hear from anyone who can add to this list either from their students' examples or their own imagination. Let's combine our 'practice wisdom' to compile a useful handout for students and teachers. This list may be especially useful for students about to embark on their last study period for the year. (Marion is on 03 9841 0807.)

Vision Fatigue: Symptoms:

- Avoidance of visual activity
- Head aches
- Increase in nystagmus
- Blurred vision
- Loss of concentration
- Sore eyes
- Double vision
- Watering eyes
- Inability or slowness in accommodating from near to far tasks or vice versa

Vision Fatigue: Strategies for relieving fatigue:

- Looking away from task
- Removing glasses
- Closing eyes
- - Taking a break
- Going to toilet
- Having a drink
- Looking outside
- Focusing on friends book (!?)
- Going for a run
- Resting head in arms on desk
- Massage to forehead, temples, eye brows
- Relaxation techniques, such as yoga, or consciously relaxing muscles which are tense
- Closing eyes and imagining yourself in a 'favourite' place
- Using a different reading medium (eg. using large print or audio instead of a magnifier when eyes are tired)
- Masking out some of the print on a page to reduce the visual clutter
- Altering reading position or posture (eg. use a reading stand for a while when tired)
- Changing the lighting conditions (eg. moving closer to the natural light of the windows, or creating more shade on the page or moving from fluorescent to incandescent light)
- Checking lighting conditions: is the light source behind you?
- Changing the font being read (eg. change from a serif font to a sans serif font)
- Consciously remembering to blink
- 'Cupping' your hands over your eyes: the hands should not touch the eyes, and imagine black while doing this

Round Table

The 2003 National Conference for the Round Table on Information Access for People with Print Disabilities will be held in Melbourne.

When: Saturday 26 to Tuesday 29 April
Where: Duxton Hotel, 328 Flinders Street Melbourne

The organisers are calling for papers - submissions for which are due by 15th November 2002 - and also for those wishing to have a trade display (agencies, organisations etc).
Contact: Rosalyn Bates (03) 9505 3270 or rosalynb@melbpc.org.au

Glaucoma Meeting and Afternoon Tea

When: Saturday, 9th November, 2.00 - 4.00pm
Where: Caulfield Racecourse Tabaret, The Elms Function Room, Station Street, Caulfield
Speaker: Dr Julian Sack
Cost: Gold coin entry

Reserve your seat today (03) 9404 2974 or catia@glaucoma.org.au

Text Books on CD-ROM

Over the past couple of years, several Visiting Teachers have had success in getting text books on CD-ROM directly from the publishers. This year, several publishers have indicated that they will not respond to requests from individuals - but they are happy to respond to requests from the Statewide Vision Resource Centre. Can you please let Deb Lewis have a list of the books that your students require by Friday 8th November so that we can put in a group order. Please call 9841 0242.

Reporting Vision Impaired Drivers

The question arose recently as to whether optometrists and ophthalmologists are obliged or in fact mandated to report to VicRoads when a person with acuities of worse than 6/12 is driving. This came up because a student on our service had been given a car!!! Optoms and Ophthals are NOT obliged to report this. In fact, they can be sued for breach of privacy if they do. They are advised to tell the patient that they should not be driving, and to document that they have provided this advice. Should anything happen as a result of the patient continuing to drive, the penalties are evidently harsher if it can be shown that they were already advised not to be driving. According to VicRoads, 'friends' often report cases of people driving when their vision is too poor. When this happens, VicRoads sends the driver a 'medical form' and requires that it be filled in by their doctor.

Positive Parenting

Parentingideas is a website designed to provide practical advice and ideas to raise happy, confident and resilient kids. Apart from the resources, produced by Michael Grose which you can purchase, there are also a number of free articles such as:

- Dealing with feelings
- Small fish in a big pond - going to secondary school
- Effective Discipline is child's play, isn't it?
- Why consistency is important but makes parents feel dreadful?

For these and more, go to: http://www.parentingideas.com.au
Attached to the print edition of The Bulletin is 'Resilient kids are resourceful kids'.

Victorian Public Transport Directory - 2001

The Blind Citizens of Australia have produced this Directory, which contains contact details for all Victorian providers of train, tram, bus and taxi transport. The idea is that you can ring up to find out public transport options for getting somewhere. It also lists general feedback and information contact numbers for the public transport sector. The Directory is available in large print, braille, audio (and SVRC has a few LP and Braille copies). Otherwise ring the BCA on 03 9521 3433 or toll free 1800 033 660 to request a copy.

Photo-Documentary

From the September 2002 edition of the Noticeboard:

Are you a young person or teenager who is facing a difficult situation? Do you want to help other people in the same situation as you? Are you willing to tell your story?

Photographer Cindy Godden is doing a photo-documentary called 'Youth and Kids Facing Hardships' about young people and teens facing traumatic and difficult issues and who want to share their experiences to evoke a positive change in the lives of others.

Contact Cindy on (03) 9534 2741 or 0419 375 169 to arrange a time to meet and discuss the project.

Pets as Therapy

Guide Dogs Victoria is now accepting applications for children with vision impairments to receive a "Pet as Therapy" Dog. The exceptionally high standards required for acceptance into the Guide Dog training program means that some of the Guide Dogs Victoria's dogs are deemed unsuitable. These sensitive and loving reclassified dogs can benefit vision-impaired children in many ways. Although "Pets as Therapy" dogs cannot perform any mobility function, dogs can play an important role in the emotional and physical development of children. They can provide love and companionship and smooth the transition into adulthood. Additionally, helping to care for these dogs can help children build skills to use a Guide Dog in the future.

If you know of a vision impaired child who you believe would benefit from a "Pets as Therapy" dog, please contact the Guide Dogs Victoria on (03) 9854 4444.

VCE Exam Supervision

It's that time of year again when many of us are called upon to individually supervise our students. This is quite a responsibility. Read all the information you are given carefully and speak to the VT to confirm the arrangements. S/he may give you a helpful contact in the school who can check on you and offer you the occasional cuppa or toilet break. Get to the school well ahead of the exam starting time so that you can find the exam room and set yourself up. Take along some silent activities remembering that you are required to keep an eye on the student. I find writing my Christmas cards is a good pursuit. I'm quietly busy but can always be interrupted to answer a question about timing or clarify a detail in the paper. If the special arrangements list you as a supervisor/scribe, this doesn't mean you have to scribe everything for the student. You may be called upon to assist with a graph or diagram, or rewrite something which is illegible.

It is a great comfort to the student if you are calm and confident about the whole session. I always write myself a table of timings so that I can immediately answer the student if they ask "How much time do I have left?" or "How much time have I taken on this question?" My table looks like this:

Time - Time taken - Time left
9.00 - zero - 2 hours 30 minutes
9.15 - 15 minutes - 2 hours 15 minutes
9.30 - 30 minutes - 2 hours
9.45 - 45 minutes - 1 hour 45 minutes
etc.

I don't write too far ahead because the clock 'stops' when the student takes a rest break and the table has to be rewritten with a new starting time.

Also, did you know that this year VBOS will provide audio exams on CD (not on cassette, as in past years)?
Lyn has a terrific handout of instructions to supervisors so be well prepared for your supervision (and get your Christmas cards out early!).

Developing Awareness of Written Language for Braille Reading Children

With the 'Early literacy' push in primary schools we are all well aware of the value of immersion in print. Braille readers can share many of these experiences by reading with or being read to by their family, teachers and peers. But what about their awareness of environmental print? The following strategies are suggested in Wormsley & D'Andrea's: Instructional Strategies for Braille Literacy, AFB, New York, 1997.

- Let children know where print appears in the environment. Children need to know where sighted people get their information, so they can grasp how print is used to communicate. Young blind children may have no idea how sighted people know the names of shops, streets, public facilities, etc. unless they are told about and shown signs.

- Provide the blind child with loads of braille. This may give children a reason to explore. One does not want to give the child the belief that the world is 'braille-labelled' so only braille label where there would normally be a print label. eg. the 'on' 'off' positions on a switch, the words on refrigerator magnets, the buttons on a cassette player, the child's name on his/her door, toy box, possessions, audio tapes, books, titles on the covers of print books/magazines, cereal boxes, recipe cards, grocery lists, playing cards, etc.

- Provide books in print and braille so that sighted peers can share reading.

- Let the child explore environmental braille which already exists: eg. automatic teller machines, MacDonald's cups, the raised dots in the centre of telephone keypads or a QWERTY keyboard, etc.

BrailleAlign

Produced by Optek Systems, BrailleAlign is a relatively new product which can be used to produce children's books with braille and print. Print and braille are positioned in direct relation to each other making it easy for non-braille readers to read along. BrailleAlign will produce uncontracted (Grade 1) or contracted (Grade 2) braille. See attached flier (print copy only) for further details.

Contact: website www.mpx.com.au/~terryk email terryk@mpx.com.au phone (02) 9891 6875

Website: Visugate Opens

From the October 2002 edition of E-Access Bulletin

A UK-based web site with ambitions to become the definitive online source of information on blindness was recently launched.

Visugate (http://www.visugate.org) is initially offering 'metadata' descriptions in text and audio formats, plus a search engine to aid navigation. Features planned for introduction in the months to come include information for special interest groups, job hunters and shoppers. Spin-off services include a Visual Impairment Learning Centre which will create and pilot web-based educational resources, and a Visual Impairment Library of Research (VILOR).

Topics with links to interesting information include:
- Daily Living
- Education
- Employment
- Health
- Parent and Child
- Recreation and Lifestyle
- Transport and Travel
- etc

Feeling the Computer

From the October 2002 edition of E-Access Bulletin

A new web site, 'ifeelpixel', created by a group of specialist companies and organisations, is offering a test version of software which will allow users to 'feel' images on the screen using tactile mice. A second test version is due before Christmas.

For system requirements and to download a copy, see: http://www.ifeelpixel.com/download

Smart Living: Technology in the Home

Imagine waking up in the morning and using a single control panel by the bed to make a phone call; turn the radio on; start the bath running (safe in the knowledge the taps will turn themselves off at the right time); and switch on the kettle. Welcome to life in a smart home.

As well as convenience, smart technologies have the potential to make the home a much safer and more convenient place for people with visual impairments. Audio interfaces, for example, could tell a user when the bath is too hot or give audio prompts when the oven is left on.

If you would like a print or disk copy of this article, please contact Deb Lewis:

Email deblewis@svrc.vic.edu.au or call 9841 0242

Mimio

The following review was supplied by Jeni Blake, Visiting Teacher, Southern Metropolitan Region:
There are now two models of Mimio - the device that captures images from a whiteboard to your laptop. Several students in Victorian schools are now using these successfully in the classroom.

Mimio Classic - $900

Mimio Classic is cheaper but the Mimio Xi is definitely worth the extra money.

Disadvantages:
- in school we don't use the eraser
- no memory in the capture bar
- need to use a mimimum of two pens
- need USB port only
- capture bar is twice as big as the Mimio Xi
- must be connected to computer at all times
- portability - we purchased a flute bag BWA13 - $26.95 - from Piano Shop & Music Co 940-944 Centre Rd Oakleigh tel (03) 9563 8711
- flexibility - need to buy an extension cable so students can sit anywhere - 5-10 metre 9 pin serial extension lead (buy at computer markets $8; Dick Smith $20)

Mimio Xi - $1,600

Need a USB port

Advantages:
- very small and portable
- need to use only 1 pen as colours are interchangeable by changing cap on pen
- do not need to be connected to computer - save it in the bar and download later
- flexibility - I have not looked for a case but I recommend a Billabong pencil case made from wetsuit material
- Need to buy an extension cable so students can sit anywhere - ability to get a longer connector ($100) but an extension cable 5-10 metre 9 pin serial extension lead will do the same job

Supplier for the Mimio Xi: Quantum Technology
Trevor Boyd
3 Chesterville Rd Cheltenham 3192
Tel (03) 9585 3277
Fax (03) 9585 3977
tboyd@quantech.com.au

Tim Connell
5 South St Rydalmere NSW 2116
Tel (02) 9684 2077
Fax (02) 9684 4717
www.quantech.com.au

Retina Australia National Congress

Source: September/October edition of BCA's Parent News

Retina Australia's national congress A Bigger Bolder Brighter Future will be held at Eden on the Park - 6 Queens Road Melbourne over the weekend of 16 &17 November. The event will include a series of research presentations and workshops with our Keynote speaker, Professor Alan Trounson speaking on Stem Cell research. These presentations will be in lay terms and presented in easy to understand formats with question times for interactive participation. All attending will have the opportunity to hear and speak with these researchers and also partake in various interactive workshops that are available.

A Bigger, Bolder Brighter Future is designed for both professionals and those affected by a retinal dystrophy their families and friends and can include retinitis pigmentosa, macular degeneration Ushers Syndrome and any other debilitating disease of the retina. We are sure that we have something for everyone.

The cost is graded as follows:
Those afflicted with a retinal dystrophy, families and friends. $60 per day - $110 for two days
Professional attendance - $150 per day - $250 for two days
These prices are inclusive of GST and meals.

A Gala Dinner on the Saturday night is $50 pp and does not include drinks. Table bookings can be arranged.
We are expecting a big attendance so it would be wise to book early.
For further Information: Gerda Davis, Retina Australia (Vic) Inc 4th Floor Ross House, 247-251 Flinders Lane Melbourne 3000
Phone/Fax (03) 9650 5088
Email: retina@netspace.net.au

Portable Web Browser

Source: September 2002 edition of E-Access Bulletin

Pulse Data is set to launch a portable web browser, 'KeyWeb', which will be available as a hardware or software upgrade to the New Zealand company's BrailleNote and VoiceNote portable notetaker products. The browser is designed to give visually impaired people access to the internet without having to use a computer and screen reader, and can be used to access search engines and fill in online forms: http://www.pulsedata.co.nz/handlers/display.cfm/4,420,18,24,html

Search the Web by Email

Source: September 2002 edition of E-Access Bulletin

A service allowing people to use highly accessible text email to search the web using the popular search engine 'Google' has had nearly 60,000 users in the five months since its launch. The bulk of those using the service are likely to have done so because the smaller connection time it requires means searching is cheaper or because it enables them to search easily using handheld devices. However, the service has found favour among blind people, who find their screen readers work better with text email than the Google web page.

One frequent user told E-Access Bulletin, "I have used it quite a lot, but then I also find the web page quite easy to use also." He did however find fault with the system because it only returns up to about 20 matches.

The service is run by web software firm Cape Clear (http://www.capeclear.com). To use it, send a query in the subject heading of an email to: google@capeclear.com

Early Language - Some Thoughts

Question from Kristen Debich (on the AERNET discussion list):

Does anyone have any suggestions for a speech teacher working with a totally congenitally blind student. The student is three and just starting pre-school. He does repeat a lot of words when asked but many of the sounds are not clear. I think he still has to work on the individual sounds. Would that be a good start? There are only a few words he says on his own.

Answer from: Andrea Story, Vision Impairment Services for Infants and Toddlers, Anchorage, Alaska

I would refer the speech therapist to the research of Linda Kekelis who was one of the writers of 'Talk to Me' and 'Talk to Me II'. These are two good booklets from the Blind Children's Center in California. I happened to attend a presentation a while ago on Kekelis' research and will paste some of my notes below. The SLP will have to rely in her/his knowledge of the range of typical early childhood articulation development but this information might help tease out other information from a different perspective. Linda Kekelis' studies of blind and sighted infants points out that language is more than labeling, it is describing. It is more than requesting, it is also responding. A lot of intervention focuses on labeling things but sighted kids quickly go beyond just labeling and the blind children (in her small study) got 'stuck' there. She says that blind children often produced requests for labels (ie What's this? A chair. What's this? A toy, etc). Her comment is that the blind child tends to stay at this level rather than the sighted child who uses it as a spring board to other conversation. She also made the comment that most kids with visual impairment in pre school are still talking only about their own activities. What makes a kid popular in preschool? Being able to comment on other's activity. She made this observation "we are so hungry for the blind child's first words that we don't encourage play with language like we do with sighted kids." With the typically developing 18 month old we are making a lot of guesses about what the child is saying. She talked about how one 18 month old (sighted) child in her study called all hats 'guys' - whether or not it was on a guy. By watching his gaze (and pointing) his mom was able to figure out what 'guy' meant. Then she accepted his word for 'hat' and could talk and joke with him about 'guys'. He did not get frustrated that she did not know what he was trying to say. She knew what he was talking about and could expand and converse with him. She did not insist that he change his made up name.
Her observations of blind children, their parents and teachers showed that the adults greatly simplified everything - label things. It was unconscious on the parents and even the researchers part. The blind children got a decreased variety and richness in language experience.

Here is her basic advice:

- Extend the child's words. If the child says "chair" the adult can say "it is a soft chair, kind of like the one at grandma's".
- Direct, agenda driven adult style has less success. This kind of teaching style delays language development in sighted kids! (think playful!)
- Accept the child's style whether it is expressive or referential (some children capture the intonation, emotion and social context even though the words aren't correct or they are repeating whole phrases or the word's aren't clear. Referential is when the child breaks the language down into one word).
- Look for things the child is doing that is communicative. With the blind child you often need to look at their hands or other body movements to tell what they like, what they are interested in - then you can talk about it with them.
- Provide quiet time.
- Go beyond requesting labels.
- Avoid asking too many test questions. These are questions that we know the answer to and the child knows we know the answer to.

Great Victorian Bike Ride - Reminder - 30 Nov to 8 Dec

Please call Jeni Blake on 0428 134660 if your students are interested in joining this year's GVBR - there is still space and from all accounts, it is a wonderful experience.

Christmas Idea: Dual Cycle

The 'Tigermoth' Dual Cycle is a side by side cycle that enables both the carer and client to ride together. It features:

- 18 speed grip shift levers
- 'V' front and rear brakes
- extra comfort saddles
- interlinked steering
- sprung front forks
Contact tel (07) 3205 5925 fax (07) 3205 5935

Student News

Chad is fund raising in his local community for a BrailleNote. Already he is well on the way to purchasing the $10,500 piece of equipment with recent donations from the Colac Auxiliary, Colac RSL and Colac South West Primary School. "Chad said he was thrilled with the support. " I'm very grateful the community is supporting me." He said. "The Braille machine will help me a great deal with my studies and my career." Attached to the print edition of The Bulletin is a copy of an article from the 20 September Colac Herald.

If you would like to assist Chad with his fundraising efforts, contact his Visiting Teacher Lynne Murdoch on (03) 5231 1499.

From One Student to Another

Recently, one of Prue's students wrote to another - here's what she had to say:

Hello there! How are you? Prue has been telling me that you have recently been given a monocular. You may not know it yet, but you are very, very lucky to have one. I know this because I too have on of my own and I've been using it since I was in grade one!

It is to my understanding that you are in grade five. That's great! When I was in primary school, I didn't really like my monocular either, partly because I used to care too much of what other people would think. Once I reached a certain point in life, however, I realised how much I needed my monocular. Especially in high school.

Now, I don't call it a monocular any more, I call it my eye. It is a very helpful thing to have in your life, especially as you get older. It's not difficult to use once you've had a bit of practice.

Don't be afraid to use it, it will be your most prized possession in the end, and your best friend J Also, don't think that you're the only one out there who uses one, because many people do.

If you ever need somebody to talk to, I'm here if you need me, okay? Good luck. My thoughts are with you!

Good News from a VT

Recently one of Trish Potter's schools asked her where they could purchase some braille books for their school library! 

If you have something you would like included in The Bulletin, contact:

Deb Lewis (who can be emailed at deblewis@svrc.vic.edu.au).

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