Bartlesville Support Group Meeting For People With Visual Impairments June 3 At Tall Grass Estates Independent Living Center

BARTLESVILLE, Okla. − The second Bartlesville support group meeting for adults with visual impairments is scheduled from 2 to 3:30 p.m. on Wed., June 3, at the Tall Grass Estates Independent Living Center; located at 2633 SE Mission Drive. The public is invited to attend.

A presentation by Maria Swatek from Nanopac, Inc. in Tulsa will focus on adaptive technology for people with visual impairments, including low vision magnification devices.

Family members, friends and those who are interested in working with people who are visually impaired are also invited. There is no charge to attend the meeting. Those who come will have an opportunity to win door prizes.

Participants may eat lunch in the cafeteria at 12:30 p.m. at a cost of $5 per person

Visual Services, which is a division of the Oklahoma Department of Rehabilitation Services (DRS), will sponsor the meeting. The meeting host is Charley Tipps, a rehabilitation vocational teacher, who serves Visual Services clients in the Bartlesville area.

Tipps, who is blind himself, speaks from experience.

“The purpose of the Bartlesville support group is to give those citizens in the area an opportunity to gather on a regular basis, to share their experiences and be supportive of one another,” Tipps explained. “Educational and recreational activities will also be a part of the purpose of the support group.”

Visual Services provides vocational rehabilitation, employment assistance and services that enable Oklahomans with vision loss to regain or maintain maximum independence and self-sufficiency. The division operates the Oklahoma Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, which provides free audio books to individuals who are not able to use standard print.

For more information about the Bartlesville Support Group for the Visually Impaired or Visual Services programs, contact Jolyn Reed or Linda Hendricks at (918) 331-5251. Charley Tipps may be reached in the Tulsa Visual Services office at (918) 581-2343.

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