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york region cnib weekender january 4 1986 p9 helping blind people to see the next time you come to a busy intersection close your eyes then try to imagine what it would be like to cross the street unionville resident bill brown does it all the time by listening carefully to traffic sounds he can teli when oncoming vehicles have come to a halt although mr brown is blind he moves easily in the world of the sighted it is an important skill for his job as district administrator of the canadian national institute of the blind cnib york region a united way agency in this capacity he and cnib social worker bev mcknight often visit newlyblind people and their families to give counselling mr brown provides a perfect ex ample for them that blindness need not be a handicap today this is truer than ever thanks to the electronic revolu tion a host of devices have been developed which have opened up new worlds of possibility for the blind and visually impaired the cnib is dedicated to bringing this visual revolution to the blind in york region some of these new devices are set up in the cnib york region headquarters on main st north in markham and include closed- circuit television systems that can magnify printed material up to 50 per cent the cnib will demonstrate this equipment to clients who can bor row it to use at home on a trial basis before making any purch ase decisions mr brown explains that many cnib clients can benefit greatly from it because they still have some useful vision the legal clas sification of blindness is 10 per cent vision or less and 80 per cent of all persons registered with the cnib across canada fall within this range lowvision aids other useful lowvision aids such as eye lupes and magnifying lenses are also available from the cnib on a trial basis but learning to use them can be diffi cult according to bev ginour cnib eye nurse who says it takes an average of four to six weeks it can be discouraging be cause instead of seeing words you see letters she explains for this reason she often recom mends that clients supplement their use with talking book machines which can be be bor rowed from the cnibs library service weight watchers announces a new class opening at st johns presbyterian church 410 goldhawk trail agincourt tuesday 645 pm commencing tuesday jan 786 join for half price until jan 2586 for further information call 18002683915 closed circuit television on the other hand shows several com plete words one model with a particularly large screen which ginour refers to as the cadillac of devices can display blocks of text but they are expensive a closed circuit television costs in the vicinity of 3000 however if one is needed for educational or employment purposes vocation al rehabilitation services a branch of the ontario govern ment will foot the bill there are other electronic aids many of them relatively inexpen sive that can also make life easier for the blind and visually impaired talking clocks wrist- watches calculators and scales for example these too the cnib will demonstrate tor clients great potential together these devices have enormous potential for exam ple computers can be hooked up with closed circuit television so that the magnified printout can be read by a visuallyimpaired per son mr brown knows of someone who is using this system to work as a reservations clerk for an air line and for people who have com plete loss of vision there are now talking computers and those that can produce braille printouts mr brown says he is clearly excited about tha possibilities of the electronic re volution it is marvellous he says it will make a tremendous difference in the employment of blind people in the future in addition to furthering this re volution the cnib provides a number of other services in york region designed to enrich the lives of the blind and visually im paired and make them as inde pendent as possible some are aimed at the newly blind as mr brown describes it adjusting to blindness requires learning new skills or refining those we might not use as much if we are sighted there is for example orga nization when you dont see you have to be organized he points out running his hand across a series of circular braille card files sitting on his office desk he adds i have things at my fingertips organization techniques are part of the cnibs rehabilition program for the newly blind as well as typing braille and crafts instructor anna marie martone teaches them things like how to fold money and arrange clothing so they can be easily identified and how to set up their kitchens use of cane learning to get around is equal ly important and martone teaches the newly blind independent travel with the use of a white cane it takes an average of three months to learn cane travel according to mr brown and most people can eventually learn to use public transit as well he believes the cane is a crucial part of a blind persons independ ence its an extension of your sense of touch he explains however some people prefer to use a guide dog randy firth for example has had his yellow lab rador fred since 1982 firth was 20 when he lost his sight six years ago in a car accident a recent social service graduate from centennial college he is at the cnib on a oneyear government- funded contract position as a case worker and volunteer co ordinator fred is a big hit wherever he goes so much so that he wears a sign that reads please do not pet working dog firth explains that people can distract fred when he needs to be concen trating notice your canadian tire flyer will be delivered to your door this sunday if you do not receive it call the economist sun distribution de partment 2948244 o o o opening soon markham presents u can eat sunday brunch is 95 kids under 10 295 with parent 5 come and see where your neighbours spend sunday like any two friends firth an fred ocasionally have their dif ferences for example firth says that if hes not completely certain of how to reach a destina tion and cant give the dog clear directions fred will just sit down in the middle of the street as if to say ask for directions dum my despite these minor upsets firth is very pleased with the arrangement the york region branch of the cnib does not provide guide dog training local residents must go to the us or oakville ontario started in 1978 since it was started in 1978 the agency has seen its client base grow dramatically in 1980 for example it had 223 clients now it serves 350 mr brown attributes this increase to the general population growth of the area the majority of its clients 209 are seniors the agency runs a special program for them the vip visually impaired persons club where they are taught crafts nor are younger clients neg lected bev ginou works with visually impaired children asses sing how they use the vision they still have and teaching their pa rents how to encourage them to use it but it is young adults who prob ably have the greatest need for the agencys services theyre the ones that need the most atten tion and the most intensive train ing mr brown says tije ancecentre 51 main st w stouffville winter session jan 13 to march 27 dancercise advanced 930 am 730 pm 800 pm dancercise beginner 930 am 700 pm 730 pm prenatal shape up 1045 am adult ballet 230 pm babysitting available for daytime classes for 10 week session oneclweek twoclsvweek fees s2400 4200 three clsweek adult ballet morwedjfri tues thurs tuesthur mon wed thurs mon 5700 3000 registration wihter session january 6 7 8 mon wed ho 3 pm january 6 hon 6 to 8 pm for further information call michele green at 6406082 or 6406451 come and enjoy winter 258 wellington st w 4715952 w hwv 7ju5teofmccowan rf cross country skiing and g sleigh rides in our winter wonderland over 20 km groomed cross country ski trails e horse drawn sleigh rides sat sun afternoons chalet with fireplace food available warmup cabins waxing huts equipment available for rent canadian ski patrolled admission individual adult 500 children under 12 400 ski club member 350 groups 20 rnln 350 equipment rental 800 4715070 only 20 minutes from markham i park hours 900 am500 pm 7 days a week