Monday, November 15, 1998
Readers write about Web, outreach program
BY DEBORAH KENDRICK
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Letters from readers are one of the best parts of the job, and recent ones have run the gamut of attitudes. Here are a few:
DEAR DEBORAH: It was interesting to read about Web accessibility (Oct. 11). I do not know what Web browsers you are familiar with, but there is a feature in Internet Explorer that can be a great benefit to people with visual impairments.
On the control panel containing icons, there is one marked Font. If you click on this icon you can increase the size of all the text on the page displayed. There are actually five levels of magnification available, but the first two levels decrease the font size.
Each time you click this icon, screen characters change to the next level. This might be useful to some readers.
NELSON ABDULLAH, FORT MITCHELL
DEAR DEBORAH: The Everybody Counts (Oct. 4) is very near and dear to my heart. For four years, I have gone to classrooms as a follow-up speaker on visual impairment. The message promoted in the Everybody Counts curriculum has been my message for 17 years.
I am totally blind and a brittle diabetic, but those two conditions are only two facets of my life. As a wife, mother, worker and volunteer, I have to approach tasks in a different manner than some, but the bottom line is that I still want and need to get the job done.
Last year, I offered my help to Nancy Kayes as a development and program coordinator. With Nancy's agreement and guidance, I developed a satellite office of Everybody Counts Inc. in Warren County. I assisted schools with the implementation and delivery of the Everybody Counts curriculum and program.
Nancy's decision to stop direct support, at the close of the 1997-98 school year, prompted me to seek out a new administrative sponsor for the program that I developed. Abilities First Foundation of Middletown now sponsors the Warren County program, which is now known as Discovering Abilities but uses the Everybody Counts curriculum.
Last year, Everybody Counts reached 3,925 students in Warren County, and we expect to reach 9,800 children this year. Abilities First Foundation hopes to expand Discovering Abilities to surrounding counties, educating children about disabilities and encouraging attitudes of understanding, respect and acceptance toward people with differences.
There is so much to be done, but I feel good about what we are doing and feel blessed to serve.
CONNIE POWERS, MASON I quoted last month from a letter by John Burtyk of Reynoldsburg, Ohio, whose son is quadriplegic and faces many of the same challenges (without the advantage of resources) as Christopher Reeve. When the column appeared, Kevin Burtyk wrote:
DEAR DEBORAH: I thought you might like a little more background on a story you ran Oct. 25.
The word ''hero'' has been watered down along with many other important words in our language. I'm just someone who ran his car into a tree, and Christopher Reeve is just an actor who fell off a horse.
A hero is someone who makes a choice to make a difference. Whether it is after a great amount of thought or done instantly like a reflex, it makes little difference. Those who help Mr. Reeve and me to move forward without being asked are the heroes in these situations - my parents and Mr. Reeve's wife.
The choice to either be a victim or to move on is simply a decision on how to survive. Those who make it seem more than that have larger personal issues of their own.
My father deals with most of my financial problems. When he sees someone in a better fiscal situation who insists on whining (like Mr. Reeve), my father feels compelled to speak up. This is what parents do.
KEVIN BURTYK
Deborah Kendrick, a Cincinnati free-lance writer, is a nationally recognized advocate for people with disabilities. Write: Deborah Kendrick, Cincinnati Enquirer, 312 Elm St., Cincinnati 45202; e-mail: 71340.473@compuserve.com.
KENDRICK ARCHIVE
