Blind
Continued from Pogo 1
she tells of having to read 1,000
pages a week — letter by letter.
She had to use an optacon —
which takes a printed letter and
raises it so it can be "read” by
feeling it — to read most of her
textbooks.
She studied "almost literally
24 hours a day.” For example,
one time she had to make cor
rections for the committee on
her dissertation which would
normally take a day or less for a
person with sight and hearing
She started at 3 p m Friday and
worked steadily through until 2
a m. Monday morning with very
little sleep, and breaks only to
eat so she could meet the
deadline
"That was not unusual," she
says
Becht and Schmidt commut
ed three days a week from Port
land, often getting up and on the
road by 7 a m and not returning
home until 10:30 or 11 p.m
Driving back and forth was the
only way Schmidt could main
tain a practice to pay expenses
An educational fund was also
set up for Becht
Becht says she expects to
start a private practice. She
hopes to get approval from the
State Psychiatric Board so that
she can accept insurance, wel
fare and Medicare payments
while working in her residency
with another doctor
-nr
She has had no problem with
counseling people. “They like it
that I can't see and hear them,"
she says. “Many people don’t
like to sit and expose them
selves.”
She explains that an
interpreter gives her eye
movements, breathing patterns
and physical movements of the
patient. If she does not use an
interpreter she sits very close to
the person.
"I can tell, for example, if the
client is laughing," she says. “I
can feel and smell their breath.
Body odor changes when peo
ple's emotions change. The way
they type (on the Teletouch ma
chine) can also tell me their
emotions. If they are angry they
will hit the keys very hard and if
they are sad they are probably
not hardly touching the keys at
all I also see how they spell.
“One patient told me he was
not using drugs, but drugs give
specific smells to the breath and
body odor." She pauses. “You
can’t fool me.”
Becht also plans to do re
search in tinnitus, the sensation
of hearing different noises in the
head. Becht says she hears
seven noises in her head and
wants to "develop a treatment
program for coping skills.
"It's an irreversible condition
You have to learn to live with it.
. it
V ^
Avoid the rush & disconnect
your phone for the summer.
Pick up one of our handy new postage-paid
summer disconnect postcards on campus
at the EMU Main Desk (Cashier/Ticket
Window) or U of O Bookstore.
We will credit $ (T
to your final
bill when you return your
phone(s) to any Grocery Cart
Store (nearest campus on 13th
& High across from Taco Time).
if you choose not to use the disconnect
postcard, call us now-484-7770-and tell
us when you want your phone
disconnected.
Your phone(s) can also be returned for credit to
any one of the Bell Phone Centers in the
Eugene-Springfield area:
*112E. 10th Ave , Eugene
(9 a.m. - 5 p.m., M-F)
•The Springfield Mall, Springfield
(9 a m. - 5:30 p.m., M-F)
•The Valley River Center, Eugene
(10 a.m. - 7 p.m., M-F, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.,
Sat.)
ARRANGE
NOW & AVOID THE RUSH
People take their lives — they
can’t live with the noise.”
Tinnitus is an allusion of
sound caused by the nerve de
terioration of the inner ear. "For
example, if you pinch yourself
you feel pain in the nerve,” she
explains. “In the inner/middle
ear it is not pain, but sound."
Typically, sounds include
screeching, steel clanking and
whining noises.
Becht sees nothing unusual
about her accomplishments and
plans for the future. Even after
becoming the first totally blind
and profoundly deaf person to
earn two doctorate degrees,
Becht is modest.
"I’m not an overachiever by
any means.”
Story by Sandy Johnatona
Photo by Jutoon Myers
OFF
(almost)
everything
in the
bookstore
June 1 -
Everything, yes almost everything, at
the University Bookstore will be 20%
less, for five days only.
Exceptions...(yes, always exceptions) are
textbooks, tobacco products, film and
processing, sales merchandise
and class rings.
This sale
is the best deal of the year.
Take advantage and come in today!
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Mon-Fri 7:30-5:30
Sat 10:00-3:00
Textbooks 686-3520 • General Books 686-3510 • Supplies 686-4331
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