[Blindtlk] An Update on My Independence

[S L Johnson]

Hello:

That is great.  I hope you continue to gain the skills necessary to give you 
independence.  I grew up doing these things from a very young age.  My 
mother expected me to do the same as my sighted sisters when it came to work 
around the house.  She also expected me to learn to iron clothes, sew 
buttons, hem pants and skirts and even operate a sewing machine.  I had to 
know how to set the oven, washer and dryer to do laundry whenever others 
were not available.  My older sister helped me adapt these tasks so I could 
do them  because my mom did not have much tolerance for any excuse.  All she 
wanted is the jobs done and she didn't care how.  When I was fifteen, my 
older sister became ill with cancer and died a year later as I was also 
losing what light perception I had left. There I was a sixteen year old who 
had to figure things out for myself in order to survive.  My parents were 
too taken up with their own tragedy of losing their older daughter to be 
bothered with the one who was going completely blind.  All my friends were 
getting their drivers licences and I was beginning to use a cane with only 
four lessons from an O&M instructor sent from rehab services.  I learned 
Braille myself, continued attending public school, performing as a soloist 
around the community  and adapted what household techniques I already had. 
It can be done since I  have continued to live completely independent for 
the next 45 years.  Now at almost age 62, I am often asked why I do not live 
in an assistive living facility and my answer is that I do not need it.  The 
skills you gain now will last you the rest of your life.  It is very 
unfortunate when blind people are not encouraged to obtain as much 
independence as possible to overcome and deal with their blindness.  It may 
help you to attend one of the NFB centers.  I do not know about these 
programs but from what I hear their graduates come out very independent and 
confident.  Keep up the good work.

Sandra Johnson and Guide Dog Eva

-----Original Message----- 
From: roanna bacchus via blindtlk
Sent: Wednesday, January 04, 2017 11:06 AM
To: blindtlk at nfbnet.org
Cc: roanna bacchus
Subject: [Blindtlk] An Update on My Independence

Dear Members,

I wanted to give you an update on my independence.  Yesterday I
washed my dishes after lunch for the first time in a long time.
Last week I folded an entire basket of laundry for the first
time.  All of the clothes in the basket were mine.  These are
small steps toward improving my independence.

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