[optacon-l] Re: hello from former Optacon teacher Judy Adams
- From: JBliss Judy <judy@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: optacon-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Wed, 7 Jan 2009 11:13:22 -0800
Dear Cindy,
Great to hear from died-in-the-wool Optacon users! The CRT lens is really a
life-saver when your speech access fails. You might have been trained by Jackie
Wheeler or Nancy Tavis, or Gayle Brueghler at the school on one of their trips.
Keep those old Optacons going! Thanks so much for writing.
Best regards,
Judy Adams
----- Original Message ---------------
Subject: [optacon-l] Re: hello from former Optacon teacher Judy Adams
From: "Cindy Handel" <cindy425@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Wed, 07 Jan 2009 12:53:55 -0500
To: <optacon-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>Hi Judy,
>
>My husband and I still use our Optacons. We have a CRT lens, as a backup,
>in case speech fails and we need to look at the screen.
>
>I never saw the typewriter attachment. I learned Optacon when I attended
>the Western Pennsylvania School for Blind Children...way back in 1974. The
>Optacon is still a great tool and I'm glad we had the opportunity to learn
>and use it. Jerry and I currently have three Optacons, although one needs
>to go for service.
>
>Cindy
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "JBliss Judy" <judy@xxxxxxxxxx>
>To: <optacon-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>Sent: Wednesday, January 07, 2009 12:37 PM
>Subject: [optacon-l] Re: hello from former Optacon teacher Judy Adams
>
>
>Dear Linda,
>
>Thanks for your response! You (and I) are to be forgiven for not
>remembering teachers/students back in '71. We had several students at each
>session and rotated teachers among them, so it's difficult to remember, but
>at the time, the relationships were intense, since the training was so
>concentrated over the week and a half. W
>
>hen Telesensory sold its blindness products to Blazie we transferred the
>technical records but held on to the training folders for each student for a
>while, trying to decide what to do with them, since they could have provided
>raw materials for research. But since there were confidentiality concerns
>about the information, it was shredded. So if you were a rowdy student,your
>secret is safe!
>
>The teachers at that time included Joan Bliss (wife of Jim Bliss, the
>co-inventor of the Optacon), Helen Golden, Martha McLaughlin, Betty Meltzer,
>Linda Wagner, Winn Downing (our only totally blind teacher at that time),
>Jackie Wheeler (who was is still associated with Kurzweil, after leaving
>Telesensory, and myself, among others..
>
>I loved that old Smith Corona attachment, and years ago I gave our training
>dept. S-C typewriter to a local Optacon user, and he has kept it in good
>working order. I remember being stopped in an airport when I was carrying
>the IBM selectric typewriter attachment, because although the rod that held
>the optics was not hollow, the security person thought I might have a rifle
>with a sight!
>
>The CRT lens for reading computer screens was also a great tool, and would
>be invaluable now when speech fails on a computer, so that one could read
>the screen!
>
>Glad you're still using it. I just received Catherine Thomas's summary of
>the group's activities since '06 and it's wonderful what has been
>accomplished. I'm just sorry I didn't join (or re-join) the list until
>recently.
>
>Best regards,
>
>Judy Adams
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