[il-talk] Help us spread the word about BELL Please

[Patti Chang]

Hello, 
 
We are reaching out to tell you about an exciting opportunity. The National Federation of the Blind of Illinois is sponsoring BELL Academies in Chicago and Springfield this Summer. Please help us spread the word by forwarding this email. You can obtain more information by reading what one of our moms said and visiting https://nfb.org/bell-academy <https://nfb.org/bell-academy>.
 
Please allow me a moment to express my sincere gratitude as a mom for your ongoing support of the 
BELL  program.  My son Isaac, age 11, attended the BELL program this year for his second time.  He was 
so excited to do it and looked forward to it from the moment he was accepted.  There are many things 
that Isaac and I value about this program.
From Isaac’s perspective, it gives him a chance to hang out with peers who are blind/VI and also 
experiencing the same challenges/situations.  This provides him with support, knowing that he is not 
alone as a blind young person trying to make his way in the world.  He is excited to go every day.  He 
really enjoys learning and practicing his skills that grow his independence.  He loves the field trips they 
take where they learn valuable life skills and have fun while they do it.  This year, a highlight was going 
kayaking.  He was so excited and it went beyond his high expectations in fun!  He came home happy and 
proud of himself!  He also likes having time with adult mentors.  This encourages him with what is 
possible for him in his future.  This year he came home and told me about an adult mentor who had a 
guide dog with her.  Before this, he has always been adamantly against having a guide dog someday but 
after interacting with this adult and her dog, he came home feeling different and like it was a good 
possible option for him in the future.  Now whether or not he someday uses a guide dog is up to him, 
but what he came away with was the model of a blind adult who had found her preferred and successful 
ways of living independently—another great example for him.  Isaac also enjoyed the wide range of ages 
in the other students…being around the younger students reminded him of how far he has come and 
the older students gave him excitement for his future.  Although our car ride to and from BELL was 
sometimes close to 1.5-2 hours each way, Isaac never wavered in his excitement, and in fact, told me 
many, many times “thanks, Mom, for taking me to BELL.”  I am so thankful for what the BELL program 
gives to him.
From my perspective, BELL gives Isaac a much needed opportunity to grow in confidence and 
acceptance of himself as a blind person.  As he has gotten older, he has really struggled with his identity 
as a blind person.  He really does not like to feel “different” from his peers, very normal for any 5th 
grader but even more complicated when there is something such as blindness.  Isaac is mainstreamed 
into his school so this opportunity to be around other blind kids (and adults) where blindness is 
normalized is priceless.  It gives him a much-needed break from feeling “different.”  It gives him equal 
playing ground to make friends and have fun and learn.  He never feels like he is missing out on any part 
of the experience when he is at BELL because it is tailored FOR the blind student.  The rest of his year, he 
is in a sighted environment and continually faces challenges and other people underestimating, judging, 
or sometimes dismissing him.  At BELL, he doesn’t have to fight those daily battles and it is like he can 
really “exhale” for a few weeks and just enjoy life instead of constantly having to prove himself.
Isaac has struggled to see future possibilities for himself as a blind person—as someone who can have 
independence and meaningful work.  He knows he is smart, but he struggles to believe that his 
blindness will not prevent him from having a great life.  The chance for him to know older students and 
adults who are living full and meaningful lives is critical and something that sighted people (even the 
best-intentioned parents) cannot give him.  He needs that real-life example with flesh on—not just a 
mom or dad or teacher telling him what is possible.  The BELL program provides this.
The BELL program is essential in showing Isaac that he CAN be independent—when they work on simple 
life skills such as grocery shopping and preparing food/cleaning up to the more adventurous skills as 
how to use public transportation in a big city like Chicago.  They don’t just talk about it—they DO it and 
this shows him he is capable.  As a parent, I can do my best to show him how to do these things, but the 
professionals and mentors at BELL know the best techniques for all these tasks and take him beyond 
what I as a parent can do.
During the schoolyear, Isaac receives a certain number of hours per week of specialized training on 
braille and VI technology and O&M.  These are wonderful and necessary; however, the immersive 2-
week experience for Isaac is an important time of concentrated training and growth that cannot happen 
during the schoolyear.  He can solely focus on his blindness training skills which leads to a deeper 
learning experience and also greater confidence.
Finally, the BELL program is not only critical for the students, but also important to their families as well.  
As a sighted parent, I do all that I can to educate and equip myself so I can equip Isaac well.  But I can 
never put myself fully in his shoes.  At BELL, he gets this from his blind peers and mentors.  This proves 
to him—and to me as his parent— what is possible.  I can be the best mom I can be, but I am not a VI 
professional such as the staff at BELL…they can equip Isaac in ways that I cannot and I cannot state the 
importance of this.   It gives us insight and renewed motivation as parents to continue working hard at 
independence so that Isaac will someday be ready to go to college, find work he enjoys, and build a life 
for himself.  We as parents also need BELL so we can be reminded once again of all the possibilities for 
our blind children.
The BELL program is a very important part of Isaac’s growth.  It moves him beyond limitations that are 
placed on him by others and sometimes himself.  It shows him new possibilities and opens up new 
dreams and goals for him.  Isaac has a lot to offer the world and the BELL program is an important part 
of Isaac seeing and believing that truth for himself AND learning how to make it possible!
Thank you, BELL Supporters and the BELL Team, for investing in our kids!
 
 
 
 
 
 
Patti Chang Esq.
Treasurer
National Federation of the Blind of Illinois
(773) 307-6440 
www.nfbofillinois.org <http://www.nfbofillinois.org/>
 
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