[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 9]
[House]
[Pages 12809-12810]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1745
                 AMERICAN PRINTING HOUSE FOR THE BLIND

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Yarmuth) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. YARMUTH. Mr. Speaker, 150 years ago, the American Printing House 
of the Blind opened its doors in my home district of Louisville, 
Kentucky, to make educational materials accessing to blind students. 
That day in 1858 stands as a milestone, not just for the education of 
the vision impaired but for the improved education of our community as 
a whole and the history of learning in the United States of America.
  Prior to the early 19th century, it was generally presumed that, with 
rare exceptions, people who were blind simply didn't have the capacity 
to learn. Through experimentation and repeated success, it became clear 
that the blind were failing to learn, not for lack of intellectual 
capacity, but because information was not presented to them in a manner 
that they could perceive. Once information was presented in appropriate 
ways, primarily through touch and sound, blind students began to 
achieve.
  In the 1830s, residential schools for the blind began to open across 
the U.S., and eventually almost every State established a school 
specifically designed to meet the needs of students who were blind and 
visually impaired. In those early years, each school produced the 
tactile educational materials that its own students needed. In 1842, 
Kentucky joined the ranks of these States when Louisville's Kentucky 
Institution For the Education of the Blind began making tactile 
materials for its students in a basement facility.
  It didn't take long for schools producing these highly specialized 
materials to realize they were duplicating effort and wasting valuable 
resources. The idea of developing a national publishing house for 
accessible materials for people who were blind and visually impaired 
took hold. Since the facility in Louisville, Kentucky, was centrally 
located among the existing schools for the blind and had developed an 
effective distribution system utilizing the Ohio River, our community 
was selected as the site for the American Printing House of the Blind, 
which was chartered by the Kentucky legislature on January 23, 1858.
  Because the expensive process of printing educational materials in 
raised letters for a small percentage of the population was not 
commercially viable, Federal funding was sought to assure a permanent 
source of revenue to support this important work. In 1879, the 45th 
Congress of the United States passed, and President Rutherford B. Hayes 
signed into law, the Act to Promote the Education of the Blind, 
designating APH as the official source of textbooks and other 
educational aids for legally blind students below college level.
  Since that time, APH has provided adaptive and specially designed 
educational materials, including textbooks in Braille and large type, 
tangible teaching devices, educational tests, and special instructional 
aids and tools essential for the education of students who are blind 
and visually impaired. As identified needs require, APH utilizes 
outside expertise by establishing innovative partnerships with 
publishers of textbooks and testing materials, commercial 
manufacturers, universities and many other industries.
  We in Congress have continued to appropriate funding for APH each 
year since 1879. As a result, this national, non-profit corporation now 
serves over 58,000 students into every U.S. State, providing the 
visually impaired the tools they need to they need to learn and excel.
  In addition to textbooks and other academic materials, APH 
manufacturers and adapts daily living tools and materials. Talking 
computer software provides access to the wealth of information 
available via the Internet, and electronic mobility devices assist with 
safe travel from one place to another. APH has developed tools that 
help people with low vision learn to utilize the limited vision they 
have more efficiently, and new technologies are delivering reading 
materials electronically.
  The technology and treatment are impressive, but here is what stands 
out. In the 1800s, a child born blind had no future. Losing one's sight 
ended independence and ambition. Today, that is not the case. Sight is 
no longer a prerequisite for leading a productive, independent and 
fulfilling life. And that is thanks in large part to APH. For tens of 
thousands of men and women without sight, APH has provided the keys to 
live, learn and thrive.

[[Page 12810]]

People who are blind now work in our communities. Children who are 
blind pursue the same dreams as children with sight. And mothers who 
are blind read stories to their kids before putting them to bed.
  As we celebrate the 150th anniversary of the founding of the American 
Printing House for the Blind, we also recognize the wisdom of the 45th 
Congress for their initial investment in educational opportunities for 
our Nation's blind and visually impaired students back in 1879, and I 
trust that my colleagues and those who follow will continue to support 
the successful precedent they set.

                          ____________________