TV Program to Watch Friday Night

Greetings. I received the following from one of the NFB's email lists last week, and thought it appropriate to share. It sounds like the show that will aire this Friday evening on NBC will present a more accurate portrayal of blindness, than ABC's Extreme Makeover show last May. As always, please excuse any formatting errors. Enjoy.

Please contact all of your NFB friends or anyone you know who might be interested and encourage them to watch an exciting program, Three Wishes,
on November
4th, 2005 at 9:00 PM Eastern 8:00 PM Central. This is of particular interest to us because it focuses on the NFB helping a blind woman learn skills to
help her take care of her baby daughter.

Additionally, after watching the show, let NBC know how much you appreciated and enjoyed the show.
Please email them at:
nbcshows@nbcuni.com.

If you are interested in the show any further, please visit NBC's website for the show at:
Three Wishes.

Please read below for more information about the episode in Cedar City, Utah.

NFB and NBC's Three Wishes

This fall, NBC premiered a new primetime television program called Three Wishes. This new program has captured the attention and the hearts of television
viewers nationwide. Producers of this program travel to various towns and cities in the United States and grant "Three Wishes" in that community. One episode
of the program was filmed in Cedar City, Utah where a man wished that his blind wife could be more independent in caring for their baby daughter. NBC contacted
the National Federation of the Blind of Utah for technical assistance in granting his wish.

After consulting with Dr. Zaborowski and Dr. Wilson of the National Federation of the Blind Jernigan Institute, the local Utah affiliate of the

National Federation of the Blind sent a team of four blind individuals to provide consultation about blindness to the producers of NBC's Three Wishes and
to provide training that would lead to higher self-esteem and more independence. Each member of the team is a graduate of the Louisiana Center for the
Blind (LCB) in Ruston, Louisiana. The LCB is one of three training centers sponsored and supported by the National Federation of the Blind.

The team members included:

Nick Schmittroth holds a National Orientation and Mobility Certification, is a graduate of the Louisiana Tech University O&M program, and is an employee
of the Utah Division of Services for the Blind and Visually Impaired. He provided orientation and mobility training.

Karl Smith, President of Axis Technology, an adaptive technology consulting company, provided adaptive technology and training.

Rebekah Jakeman, a blind mother of two children, provided guidance on alternative techniques for caring for children and running a household as a blind
person.

Ron Gardner, President of the National Federation of the Blind of Utah and former Director of the Institute on Blindness at Louisiana Tech University, consulted
with the producers about blindness, provided Braille instruction, and conducted philosophical training to Three Wishes producers and staff to promote a
positive attitude about blindness.

The training was very successful and provided hope and education not only to the blind mother and her family, but also to program producers and the residents
of Cedar City, Utah. Our hope is that this positive image of blindness will be promoted across America through the NBC Three Wishes primetime television
program.

Producers expect this program to air on Friday, November 4 at 9:00 PM Eastern 8:00 PM Central.

Please tune in on Friday evenings to watch Three Wishes!

You will soon be able to find information about the National Federation of the Blind on the NBC Three Wishes web page.

This information can also be accessed at our website also:

http://www.nfb.org/media/threewishes.htm.

Thank you for sharing this with people across your state!

With kind regards,

Joanne Wilson
Executive Director of Affiliate Action
National Federation of the Blind
1800 Johnson Street
Baltimore, MD 21230