The Museum of the American Printing House for the Blind (APH), located at 1839 Frankfort Avenue, will host "Reclaiming the Dream: The Story of Rehabilitation for Blinded Veterans" on Saturday, November 15, 2008 from 12:30pm to 3:00pm. The event will include a brief history of Mobility and Orientation by Dr. Richard Welsh, a screening of The Long Cane, a sharing of personal stories by graduates of V.A. operated rehabilitation centers, and the unveiling of a unique collection of obstacle detectors and laser canes from the museum's AER Mobility & Orientation Division/Bledsoe Archives. Program participants will meet professionals who were pioneers in the development of special services available to blinded veterans, hear some of the personal experiences of veterans who have taken part in the
programs, and see early examples of electronic travel aids, now part of the museum's collection and unveiled for public viewing for the first time, on November 15. The program is free, but space is limited. Call (502) 899-2365 by November 13 to register.
"Over the years, thousands of American soldiers, sailors, and airmen returned home from their service without something they had before they left: their vision," says Mike Hudson, director of the Museum of the American Printing House for the Blind. "This special program is our way of exploring the birth of modern rehabilitation for people with vision loss."
On January 8, 1944, President Franklin D. Roosevelt made an extraordinary commitment to our nation's war-blinded servicemen when he signed an executive order declaring: "No blinded servicemen from WW II would be returned to their homes without adequate training to meet the problems of necessity imposed upon them by their blindness." The U.S. Veterans Administration set out to devise new techniques and invent new devices that would allow them to achieve the dreams they left behind to serve our country. It was the beginning of what, today, has become an extensive network of specialized services available to blinded veterans.
About Dr. Richard Welsh
During his illustrious career, Rick Welsh has served as an orientation and mobility specialist, a college professor, a counselor, a rehabilitation coordinator, and an administrator, most notably as President of both the Maryland School for the Blind and Pittsburgh Vision Services. Two of Dr. Welsh's many significant contributions include co-editing the first two editions of the primary textbook used by programs educating orientation and mobility specialists, Foundations in Orientation and Mobility, and leading the consolidation of two long-standing professional associations to form the Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired (AER) in 1984. In October 2008, he was inducted into the Hall of Fame for Leaders and Legends in the Field of Blindness. Read more about him at http://www.aph.org/hall_fame/bios/welsh.html [3].