APH News & Press
American Printing House for the Blind Recognizes Two for Innovative Product Ideas
News Release: Louisville, Kentucky, November 20, 200
The American Printing House for the Blind (APH) is pleased to announce this year's winners of the Virgil Zickel Awards. Each has contributed an innovative idea for a product that is now being produced by APH.
- Patty Wheatley worked with APH to produce Picture Maker: Wheatley Tactile Diagramming Kit. Patty developed this tactile board to meet her own needs as an Orientation and Mobility Specialist. The system worked so well that she thought it would be useful to others. The kit contains moveable shapes in various textures, sizes and shapes. Although it is particularly useful for mapping applications, students or adults who are blind or visually impaired can also use it for numerous other educational purposes. Patty works in the Fayette County (Kentucky) Public Schools teaching blind and visually impaired students the mobility skills that will enable them to travel safely through their home, work, and school environments.
- M. Beth Langley, M.A., was recognized for her work in developing ISAVE (Individualized Systematic Assessment of Visual Efficiency), a unique, functional vision assessment tool. It is intended primarily for students, including infants, children, and young adults with significant cognitive, neurological, physical and sensory impairments who cannot respond reliably to standard measures of visual functioning. Beth is a vision teacher and author in Clearwater, Florida. She has taught multihandicapped children for many years.
The Virgil Zickel Award is given, annually, to a person (or persons) who contributes an innovative idea for a new product that can be produced by APH. The award commemorates the service of Virgil Zickel, plant manager at APH for 27 years.
The American Printing House for the Blind, Inc., founded in 1858, is the oldest organization of its kind in the United States and the world's largest not-for-profit company that creates educational, workplace, and life-style products and services for blind or visually impaired people.
Contact Roberta Williams, Public Relations Specialist, for more information. Telephone: 1 -800-223-1839 or (502) 895-2405; e-mail: rwilliams@aph.org