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The first "school for the blind" was established in France.
The first "school for the blind" was established and France and before long the schools were also established in England and throughout Europe. -
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The History of the Blind
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First residential school for the blind was established in America
The first residential school for the blind was established in America.It was the New England Asylum for the Blind. The term asylum was used in the names of most of the early schools. -
New York Institution for the Blind was established
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The American Printing House for the blind (APH) was established
The American Printing House for the Blind (APH) was established in Louisville, Kentucky. In 1879, APH was made the official printer of school books for blind students in America. -
The American Association of Instructors of the Blind was created
The American Association of Instructors of the Blind (AAIB) was created in 1871. This was the first organization of blindness professionals in America and embraced those working in the residential schools. -
Brail was accepted as the national standard for tactile rading for the blind
Braille was accepted as the national standard for tactile reading for the blind. Prior to 1918, there had been several competing tactile methods, and there had been strong differences of opinion among the leading blindness professionals of the day. The blind, themselves, had always preferred the Braille reading and writing system. -
The Pratt-Smoot Act was passed by the Congress
The Pratt-Smoot Act was passed by the Congress. It established the federal program of providing books for the blind. It created what was then known as the Division for the Blind of the Library of Congress, what is now the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped. -
The Wagner-O'Day Act was passed by the Congress
The Wagner-O'Day Act was passed by the Congress in 1938. The purpose of this Act was to require that the federal government purchase certain items - mops, brooms, mattresses, etc. - from sheltered shops for the blind. This was clearly another federal effort to create more and better employment opportunities for the blind. -
Congress passed the first law requiring that public schools accept handicapped students in "the least restrictive environment."
Congress passed the first law requiring that public schools accept handicapped students in "the least restrictive environment." This law is now known as The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and has led to the placement of countless blind children in the public schools. However, mere placement in the public schools, without more, was destined to fail blind students. -
The Americans with Disabilities Act was passed by the Congress
The Americans with Disabilities Act was passed by the Congress in 1990. This Act greatly broadened the protections offered by Title 5 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as Amended. Generally, it took civil rights protections for people with disabilities into the private sector. The blind'speaking through the National Federation of the Blind'supported this act only after a provision was added that said that a disabled person did not have to accept a particular accommodation if he or she did -
The National Federation of the Blind established the International Braille and Technology Center
The National Federation of the Blind established the International Braille and Technology Center to secure and evaluate all of the many rapidly developing pieces of Braille and other technology for the blind. -
The National Federation of the Blind established NEWSLINE FOR THE BLIND.
The National Federation of the Blind established NEWSLINE FOR THE BLIND. This is a system whereby blind people can read newspapers and magazines using touch-tone telephones. -
The Federation proposed a law to the Congress which stated that every publisher wishing to copyright a proposed textbook would have to submit an "electronic" version of that book to a federal repository before the copyright would be granted
By 2004, certain blind students were still being denied Braille instruction, so the National Federation of the Blind offered yet another solution: the Federation proposed a law to the Congress which stated that every publisher wishing to copyright a proposed textbook would have to submit an "electronic" version of that book to a federal repository before the copyright would be granted. Congress passed and the President signed this legislation in the fall of 2004. Plans are being finalized
