TIme flies

It's been quite some time since my last post.   This blog had to take a backseat to other priorities in my life.  Since my last post I've moved twice and started my first semester back at University.  I've also had further complications with Glaucoma and more vision fluctuation.  I had surgery on February 13th and am still in recovery mode.

I would prefer to focus on what I've learned while attempting an education thus far in 2014 rather than my health issues.  I take a positive approach to the disabilities i have as you all know.  so here goes.

Going to or back to school at any age offers it set of challenges.  even more so when one has a disability . Not to mention everything is new.  New facility to navigate, new services and programs to figure out. Just figuring out the lay of the land and how one must do things can be challenging.  Patience and asking for help really helps.

One of the biggest challenges with going to school for me was how do i read the textbooks?  i cannot read them as i used to and many books are not available straight away in digital format.  I was lucky enough to obtain some  books in digital format. however a few of them and i wont bash any publishing houses here, have online sites where you go to read the book, which are not assessable.  FYI Zoom-text is a wonderful product but offered me no assistance here as its more of a magnification software with some reading capablitities. i suggest Jaws or Openbook, more info below.

So i went to the Adaptive Services office at Florida Gulf Coast University where i go to school and they have a form you can fill out.  They in turn contact the publisher and ask for the book in an alternative format.  This sounds like an answer to the problem.  However i was weeks into my semester before i received some of my books. one book i didn't get until half way through my semester.  so if you are print disabled for whatever reason and you plan on going to school.  i suggest you register as early as you can.  get the book info and start working on alternative forms asap.  there are some very helpful services out there for us.

i joined this one and have downloaded 2 of my textbooks. this service is not free. however if you are a division of blind services client, they will pay for it if you ask nicely.
Learning Ally
http://www.learningally.org

Bookshare
https://www.bookshare.org/
an app i use in conjunction with Bookshare is Read 2 Go

Read 2 go.
http://read2go.org/

Read2Go is the most accessible e-book reader app for readers with print disabilities. Directly from within the Read2Go app, Bookshare members can find, download, and read books all on a single Apple device. No need to download books to computers, transfer files, or decompress files! Just download and READ!
although one drawback is a computer generated voice that takes some time to get used to.

Options for recreational reading and research are....
Talking Books from the National Library Service & BARD
http://www.loc.gov/nls/index.html
https://nlsbard.loc.gov/login//NLS
 Bard has an iphone & ipad app that's awesome.  i use it a lot.  it saves space when traveling instead of carrying my player.

another source for information and one of my favorites is a free service from the National Federation of the Blind called Newsline.
https://nfb.org/audio-newspaper-service   CALL TOLL FREE: 1-866-504-7300 for more information
its an audio newspaper & magazine service.  They also have an Iphone app
.http://nfbnewslineonline.org/nlmobile.htm  links on page to itunes store, app is free

There are more services out there but i can vouch for them yet as i haven't had the opportunity to try them all.  These services Ive listed are amazing and really help me to stay in touch with the World, learn what i need in school.

The last resort in obtaining a book in digital format is to scan it into your computer and use
Jaws or Open Book to read it. Jaws and Open Book are software you can purchase.  I'm in the process of learning these two programs with the Lighthouse for the Blind and haven't done this yet.  As soon as i have some experience with this method i will report back.  I know other blind students from the Florida Association of Blind Students to which i am the secretary have had to use this method many times.
Jaws software link http://www.freedomscientific.com/products/fs/jaws-product-page.asp
Open Book software link http://www.freedomscientific.com/products/fs/openbook-product-page.asp

That brings up a great point. If you live in Florida and if you are a student who is blind or low vision or someone who wants to advocate for blind students.  You can join the Florida Association of Blind Students.  http://www.nfbflorida.org/divisions/students/  if you dont live in Florida each state has a chapter or you can join the National Association of Blind Students.
link to NABS http://nabslink.org/

for Fabs email me and i will gladly give you the information.  my email is kchristenson76@gmail.com Dues are only $5 a year.  We are changing what it means to be a blind student.  we help each other, explore better options for all sorts of educational and life issues.  we are a team and a family.  We also have a Facebook page
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Florida-Association-of-Blind-Students/228316753886844
and a Facebook closed discussion group-must be a member to join this group
https://www.facebook.com/groups/479604765490611/

There is also a list serve for FABS

FABS LIST SERVE….. -http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/fabs_nfbnet.org

LInk to NFB List Serve page.https://nfb.org/listserv

also if you don't know about the NFB-National Federation of the Blind, check it out.  this organization saved me from despair of losing my sight.  They are my family and my friends.
https://nfb.org//

whew OK, that's tons of information i know.  i hope its not too confusing to follow.

The most important thing i want to talk about today is helping people who have disabilities have equal access to textbooks.  There  is legislation in progress right now to fix this issue.  its called the TEACH act. 
Technology, Equality and Accessibility in College and Higher Education Act or the TEACH Act - Directs the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board (Access Board) to develop accessibility guidelines for electronic instructional materials and related information technologies in institutions of higher education (IHEs). "info taken from Teach act site"
 https://nfb.org/national-federation-blind-and-association-american-publishers-applaud-introduction-%E2%80%9Cteach-act%E2%80%9D

Here is how YOU can help...please sign this petition
 https://www.change.org/petitions/pass-teach-act-equal-access-to-educational-materials-for-students-with-disabilities

Thank you all for reading my blog. and have a better day today than yesterday!

Perception

This is a picture of my eyes, no makeup, no photo shop just what you get when you look at me.  All my life I've known that i look different.  When I was a little girl I was teased for being different.  I didn't do well in sports due to my lack of sight and my lack of depth perception.  I was good at other things like art and making others feel accepted.  I'm not going to lie and say it didn't hurt and I didn't care because I certainly did. Lets face it we all notice when someone is different than us, its simply human nature. The thing is that no matter if I had a disability or different looking eyes I would of been teased for something because that's just what kids do.  It is a right of passage or sorts and teasing happens in every school in every town across the world.  No matter what parents or teachers do its going to happen.  So I learned how to adapt to my environment, to get along with everyone.  I stood up for those who were like me, kids who didnt fit the mold of the popular child.  When kids would tease me.  I let them know that there unkind words had no impact on me.  As I got older the teasing stopped and the compliments started coming in.  People would tell me I had the coolest eyes.  One day a girl even told me she wished she had wicked beautiful eyes like I had.  I was dumb founded.  The situation seem to have changed over a Summer.  What I realized is it wasn't the other people/kids who had changed, it was me.  I was proud of who I was, how I looked and I carried my head high. The other kids seem to notice the change in me.   I put up boundaries and ceased to allow people to talk to me that way.   In my twenties I moved to Florida.  while searching for the new eye doctor i came across a doctor who thought I needed cosmetic contact lenses so my eyes would look normal.  It was insulting and I got up out of the examination chair, told the doctor he was insensitive and that I was alright with how my eyes looked. I promptly walked out of the eye doctors office.  Then I found myself a new doctor.   Now that I'm in my thirties, I no longer get upset when someone has an unkind thing to say about my eyes.  I forgive them for they know not what they do or say.  I can be the bigger person today.  When people ask me about my eyes and they do all the time.  I'm honest.  I have Congenital Glaucoma, I'm legally blind and I'm happy  I'm grateful for the way I am, because this is how God intended me to be. My disability has made me who I am and I wouldn't change that for anything.  My struggles with a disability have made me a compassionate person who loves her life.  My eyes are beautiful and nobody can convince me otherwise. 

Let’s be proactive!

Today I had the pleasure of meeting some very amazing visually disabled young adults.  We shared our stories with each other across a luncheon table eating chicken fajitas.  There are many degrees of visual impairment and this was evident at the luncheon table today. The degrees range from those who have partial sight and manage the task of eating quite well to those who need assistance with pesky condiment packages and placement of food on a plate for example.  My friend who joined me today who is sighted was amazed at how visually impaired folks operate.  She is used to clumsy ole me who still has a fair amount of sight and when you see me sitting without my cane, you wouldn’t know I can’t see well.  I’ll admit the first time you are around a few blind people, it changes your life.  My life was changed forever by going to the National Federation of the Blind Conference this year, but that’s a story for another post.   The part of this story that I want to share with you most of all is this.  There were three young adults there that I had the pleasure of having conversation with.  I’ll call the first young man Thomas.  Thomas was in his early twenties and has no vision at all.  He had recently been laid off from his job at a local restaurant.  His job at this local restaurant was rolling silverware.  Thomas wants a more productive, self-sufficient life and is now getting the training he needs to be a successful blind person through the rehabilitation center in Daytona Florida and the Division of Blind Services. It infuriated me that he hasn’t had this opportunity before and that even though the said restaurant may have thought they were being kind giving Thomas that job in the first place, it’s an insult.  Blind people have much more to offer this world.  Now don’t get me wrong ive been in the hospitality industry a long time and rolling silverware is part of many servers jobs and am not saying there is anything wrong with doing that task.  What I’m saying is that it’s sad that is one of the limited types of jobs a blind man has offered to him because of lack of awareness and proper training.

The second story I heard today was also a young man in his mid-twenties, who unlike Thomas had partial sight, but is considered legally blind.  I’ll call this young man Kevin.  Kevin has gone through our public school system but somehow didn’t make it to college.  So for the last four years he’s been trying to find a job unsuccessfully and living with his mother.  The thing about Kevin’s story is that neither he nor his family knew how to advocate for Kevin so that he could have the skills & training and the opportunity for funding to go to college.  Nobody came looking for Kevin to say hey there’s help out there are programs designed just for the visually disabled.  Because Kevin has sight in one eye he and his family didn’t think he was eligible for services.   Kevin has RP. Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) a degenerative eye disease which qualifies him even if he can still see.  Kevin’s story really touched me because it’s so similar to mine.  Blind in one eye, sighted in the other.  Not getting assistance until it gets to the point that you cannot drive nor do simple everyday tasks.  Shouldn’t we get the training and skills before the vision loss?  Shouldn’t we be more proactive instead of reactive?  I think so.   Luckily Kevin is now getting the training he needs.

The third person I had lunch with today is a lovely young lady I met at the NFB conference in Orlando earlier this year.  She has no sight, been blind from birth.  I’ll call her Vicky.  Vicky never graduated from High school.  She was never taught braille.  She lives with her sister and collects disability but Vicky is sick of relying on other people and doesn’t want to be a burden to her family.  So this brave young girl got a scholarship to the NFB conference.  Vicky learned as did I at the NFB conference how to advocate for herself and get the help needed to succeed.   She is finishing blind school and then Vicky plans on getting her GED.

What I learned from today is that there are many many situations like, Thomas, Kevin & Vicky’s.  Its actually more common than you think and the lack of education, training, job placement and independent living for the disabled is quite extensive.  Many people fall through the cracks, get lost in the system or never get in the system in the first place.  I’m honored to have spent my lunch hour with such determined individuals.  Hearing their stories only fuels the fire inside me to do something about it.  There is such an overwhelming need for outreach programs to find struggling people like Thomas, Kevin & Vicky.  Not only do I feel I need to advocate for myself in a world designed to fail those with disabilities but I want to be of service to those like me.  I’d love to see a system that is proactive rather than reactive.  How does that happen?  I’m not sure but I’m going to keep fighting to find a way.    

A few helpful links to assistance education, programs, organizations etc that I have found this year in no particular order of importance….as I find more resources I will tag on this blog.  Email me or post a comment if you have any questions and I’ll do my best to help you.

Division of Blind Services of Florida

http://dbs.myflorida.com/

Mission Statement: To ensure blind and visually-impaired Floridians have the tools, support and opportunity to achieve success
Vision Statement: In partnership with others, create a barrier free environment in the lives of Floridians with visual disabilities.

NOTE-each state has a similar department, search the web or contact your department of education for more info

National Federation of the Blind

https://nfb.org//

American Foundation for the Blind

http://www.afb.org/default.aspx

National Library Service-NLS

http://www.loc.gov/nls/

Through a national network of cooperating libraries, NLS administers a free library program of braille and audio materials circulated to eligible borrowers in the United States by postage-free mail.

Hadley School for the Blind

http://www.hadley.edu/

Our mission is to promote independent living through lifelong, distance education programs for people who are blind or visually impaired, their families and blindness service providers.

Perkins School for the Blind

http://www.perkins.org/

Bookshare

https://www.bookshare.org/

Accessable online library

Note-free for qualified us students.  I’m a student of Hadley which is free so I also got bookshare for free!

Jerrigan Institute

https://nfb.org/jernigan-institute

NFB-Newsline

https://nfb.org/audio-newspaper-service

FREE SERVICE TO THOSE WHO CANNOT READ REGULAR NEWSPRINT!