[nabs-l] Regarding Another Blind Student on Campus

[KENNEDY STOMBERG]

Vejas,  

I would like to elaborate on what Carly said. Gently bringing up the subject of non-visual techniques is not inherently bad, but you must be incredibly careful  if you decide this is really something you want to do. 
Allow me to explain... I have been visually impaired all of my life. However, I grew up in a rural area and received very little Mobility Training. A lot of what I know is self-taught. I don't think this makes me less successful. I am an endependent woman. But, because I don't navigate the way other blind people do, and because I am not proficient with things like public transportation, I have had several people from the NFB  and other organizations very rudely inform me that I need to go to a Training Center.  This has made me all the more determined not to do it. I have clearly been quite  successful without it, and I don't see the need.  (I mean no disrespect here. Training Centers are fabulous, I just don't think I personally would benefit from going.) 
I could see the other blind student at your college reacting similarly if you are not careful in how you approach this. Learning non-visual techniques is  good, especially if you're losing your vision, but that change is already difficult even without other people telling you that you have to change what you're doing.  
All of that said, I am sure you will be gentle, and it's good that you are trying to help.  
 Good luck and let us know how it goes! :). 
Kennedy 

Kennedy Stomberg 
(218)295-2391 

> On Nov 18, 2016, at 11:30 AM, Carly Mihalakis via NABS-L <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> Good morning, Vejas,
> 
> Remember this, people's regard for their waining eyesight and its aplication, it would seem to me, is a very personal experience.    __At 10:59 PM 11/15/2016, Vejas Vasiliauskas via NABS-L wrote:
>> Hi,
>> I had known there were 2 other blind students on my campus, which is fairly small, and met one of them last week.
>> This student is still very high-vision but uses a cane.  He can travel quite well during the daytime, but not in the dark.  He uses magnification, and although learned Braille as a high-school student when his mother wanted him to, does not use it anymore.
>> This I consider mostly fairly normal for a student with lots of functioning vision.  The main concern that I have, though, is that he still looks at the screen on his phone and, when it gets too sunny, avoids use of it altogether.  This could land him in potential problems in the future if it has not already.
>> Although he would definitely benefit from learning about Voice-Over and training center opportunities, I barely know him.
>> What approach would you use to tell them about the help they can get, knowing that they may not even want the help?
>> The only idea I can think of is to take him somewhere for lunch on campus and casually bring things like how to use Voice-Over up without making it sound like a big deal.
>> What are your thoughts?
>> Vejas
>> 
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