[humanser] Intro and a few questions

[Merry Schoch]

Dear Danielle,

Welcome to our list!  As you have notice there are many different
perspectives on the topic of wearing glasses.  Currenntly, I wear glasses
that serve as a replacement for the missing lens in one of my eyes.  The
high magnification causes my eyes to appear quite large.  I have gone back
and forth with myself whether to wear the glasses especially around children
I serve.  My experience has been that the majority of children ask about why
my eyes are so large and then we move past this topic.  Some younger
children, toddlers, may be frightened at first but usually after they get to
know me and play in my playroom they are fine. 

My glasses are a benefit to me for reading with my CCTV. Several years ago,
I had an injury which resulted in the globe of my eye being ruptured, since
the injury I have been a bit hypervigilent about protecting my eyes. This is
another reason I wear my glasses all the time.  I appreciate you reaching
out to our list to give you our different perspectives.

Again, welcome to the list and hope to be hearing more from you.

Warmly,
Merry C. Schoch, LCSW
National Federation of the Blind
Human Services Division. 
President

-----Original Message-----
From: HumanSer [mailto:humanser-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Danielle
(Shives) Manke via HumanSer
Sent: Sunday, September 18, 2016 9:02 PM
To: humanser at nfbnet.org
Cc: Danielle (Shives) Manke
Subject: [humanser] Intro and a few questions

Hello all,
I have just joined this list and wanted to introduce myself, as well as ask
a few questions. My name is Danielle Manke, and I am currently working on a
graduate degree in school counseling. I have a background in education but
find counseling to be a good fit for me. I have been working on my
coursework for a year and should be finished my program in May. Between now
and then, I am required to complete field experiences in an elementary,a
middle, and a high school; I am working on the middle school experience now.
I am wondering if there are any school counselors on this list that I could
touch base with throughout these experiences and possibly beyond? Also, my
supervisor for my current experience raised a concern about students being
uncomfortable because of my eyes. I am totally blind so obviously do not
make eye contact and, along with that, I have no control over my eyes and
cannot focus them, and they move all over the place. My supervisor asked if
I have ever considere  d  glasses. I really haven't considered this; I
raised it as an issue to some loved ones once and was told they would rather
see my eyes. My supervisor suggested I simply ask students if my eyes are an
issue for them, which I will do, but I'm wondering if anyone has any
thoughts or experiences they can share about something like this? Has anyone
dealt with a similar situation? Finally, I know that some people in my field
have ways that people can report things anonymously to them, and this is
sometimes done in writing. Though technology may replace the written part, I
am wondering if anyone would have any suggestions in the event someone
wanted to report something to me? Thank you so much in advance for any
responses/help.
Danielle Manke
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