Should US bills be 'blind friendly'?

"The blind are portrayed as either superhuman or subhuman," Ticchi says. "But we're neither. We're people."

Ticchi and Berrier's difference of opinion reflects that of two major advocacy organizations. The National Federation of the Blind (NFB) views blindness as a physical characteristic, one of many that differentiates people, says James Gashel, NFB's executive director for strategic initiatives. Members say people who are blind should take responsibility for their lives and not rely on the government.

The American Council of the Blind (ACB), which filed the currency lawsuit, says the blind are capable of more than they think, but that more resources are needed to train everyone to become an "elite blind person," says Executive Director Melanie Brunson. To ACB, blindness often requires accommodation.

Despite their differences, the organizations are not locked in an escalating feud. Late last week, with the currency issue as a backdrop, leaders from NFB and ACB discussed projects to improve access to school materials for blind children. They decided not to raise the currency dispute.

"Both organizations have done a lot," says Alison Roberts who represents Our Money Too, a small advocacy group that supports identifiable currency. Ms. Roberts says the disagreement is not what people should focus on, because no organization can speak for everybody. Changing currency, she says, could be a step toward addressing other problems that affect the blind, "an invisible minority."

These issues include high unemployment (more than 55 percent for blind and visually impaired persons, according to the independent American Foundation for the Blind), improving Braille education and access to textbooks for students, and making sure research or commercial websites don't exclude the blind. NFB recently sued Target because the blind couldn't shop on the retailer's website.

Paul Schroeder, a vice president with the American Foundation for the Blind, says his group welcomes the currency ruling, but jokes that he wouldn't mind if the blind got more attention without a lawsuit. He says it's hard to prioritize goals when the blind community is so diverse and the problems so varied. Differentiating American currency is probably among the ones they all share, he says.

"We all try to believe we reflect the interests of a broader group," Schroeder says, referring to the NFB and ACB, whose combined membership is only 1 percent of the blind population. But, he adds, the disagreement stirs a healthy debate around a crucial question: How much should we push society to change, and how much should individuals learn to adapt?

To get more details on how various organizations for and of the blind regard the lawsuit and the issue about American currency, you can read:

•The press release of the American Council of the Blind saluting the decision.

•A reaction from National Federation of the Blind.

•A message from the American Foundation for the Blind.

•Views on changing currency: www.ourmoneytoo.org.

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