Here's an excellent story of how a blind Albuquerque teenager used
adaptive technology to independently produce a Braille instruction manual
for a blind adult at a trade school.  It is certainly no stretch to say
now that adaptive technology is simple enough for a 14 year old to
master.

Kelly



Albuquerque Journal

December 5, 2001

Answering the Call

BY Amy Webber Journal Staff Writer

Blind student converts book to Braille so visually impaired woman can
take class

Rio Rancho High School student Chris Gabaldon said he's learned that
helping someone a little bit can go a long way.

When Gabaldon heard his mother talking with a friend in September about
a visually impaired woman who wanted to take a class but didn't have a
Braille copy of the book she needed, he volunteered to make the book for
her.

Gabaldon, 14, said he's used to making Braille books because he's been
blind his whole life.

When the opportunity to help Vivian Hardin came up, Gabaldon said he was
ready.

Hardin, who lost her vision in 1997 because of a hereditary condition,
said she is still learning how to cope with her impairment.

"I used to be a nurse," Hardin said. "I haven't been blind a long time.
I thought I would go to school at (the University of New Mexico), but
then I was told about (Albuquerque Technical Vocational Institute.)"

Hardin said she decided to attend TVI's Call Center College so she could
learn how to be a customer service representative at a calling center.

There was only one problem, the Call Center College wasn't equipped to
meet the needs of someone who was visually impaired, said Eric Nixon, a
coordinator trainer for TVI's Workforce Training Center.

"Before Vivian came to us, we never taught a blind student," Nixon said.

"(But) we didn't see a reason not to."

Nixon told Gabaldon's mother, one of his best friends, about the
situation. When Gabaldon overheard the conversation, he volunteered
immediately to make a Braille copy of the class' training book for
Hardin, Nixon said.

"He said, 'I'd love to do it'," Nixon said.

Gabaldon said he wanted to help Hardin because he knew making the book
was something he could do.

"I wasn't brought up to receive recognition for something like this," he
said. "I just knew I could (help)."

Gabaldon said he worked for about five hours one day to complete the
training book.

He scanned each of the book's pages into his computer. A computer
program called Duxbery translated the text into Braille. Then Gabaldon
printed the text out on an embossing machine, which made the raised
Braille dots.

Gabaldon said he's not surprised that the training center didn't already
have a Braille training book.

"Only 10 percent of the population in the U.S. is visually impaired,"
Gabaldon said. "There's not a high demand for (Braille books)."

Although Braille books are generally inexpensive, Gabaldon said he's
found that when books aren't available in Braille and have to be
translated, it can be expensive.

To have one page of text embossed, companies usually charge from 90
cents to $1.25, he said. Pages from a math book can cost from $7 to $10
a page, he said.

"Math books can cost $2,000 a book," Gabaldon said.

He said math problems and graphic charts are harder to turn into
Braille. He said he spent a couple of hours on the phone with Nixon when
he worked on Hardin's book to make sure the book wouldn't leave out
important information from charts, which his computer couldn't convert.

Gabaldon said a computer system like his costs about $7,000 to $10,000.
He said other state-of-the-art computers and programs, which can
translate text into Braille can cost $80,000 to $100,000.

For Hardin, Gabaldon's knowledge and help was a chance for her to learn
a new profession.

"I'm glad Eric knew Chris and he did some networking to get my Braille
book embossed," Hardin said.

Nixon said the call center also got a special computer with a voice chip
for Hardin to use. The computer will pronounce the words that are typed
into the computer, Nixon said.

Hardin graduated from the call center class, which lasted for three
weeks, on Oct. 5 and is taking a break with her newborn baby before she
begins to look into a career at one of the many call centers in the
state.

Hardin said she would like to encourage others who are visually impaired
to learn how to work at a call center.

"It's an easy profession, even for a blind person," Hardin said.

Gabaldon said Hardin was able to keep the book, but he kept a copy on
disk in case the center needs a copy for future students.


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