[Nfbc-info] Changing What it Means to Be Blind

Tue Jan 10 11:01:20 UTC 2012

Hello Serena,

Thank you so very much for sharing with everyone.

Would you mind contacting me off list. I have an idea for show, and would like your feedback.

Sincerely, 

Genesis Renata, Nashville, Tenn. 

www.mojoradio.us 

TWITTER: Genesis Renata  

CHATROOM: www.mojoradio.us/chat (NO ONE UNDER 18 PERMITTED IN CHATROOM WITHOUT PARENTAL CONSENT) 

---------------------------------------- > Date: Sun, 8 Jan 2012 16:16:31 -0800 > From: olsen.serena at gmail.com > To: chapter-presidents at nfbnet.org > CC: nfbc-east-bay at googlegroups.com; nfbc-info at nfbnet.org > Subject: [Nfbc-info] Changing What it Means to Be Blind > > [This is a response to an email thread on the Chapter Presidents > Listserve that I wanted to also share with my own chapter and > affiliate.] > > Hi Listers, > > I have been enjoying the conversations arising from Mary Kendricks' > request for feedback for her research, and am extra motivated to get > my two cents in after reading Michael Barber's recommendation to > listen to Dr. Jernigan's "Dishwashing Tapes" seminar (I found the link > at http://www.nfb.org/nfb/Audio-Video_Center.asp), which I'm sure I've > heard before, but revisiting items like these is always great. > > Changing what it means to be blind, for me, is blurring the lines > between and changing people's misperceptions about the discrimination > between "total" and "low-vision". I have quite a bit of useable > vision and my condition, Stargardts, deteriorated slowly over time. > Consequently, I was never seriously thought of as **blind** and passed > for sighted all of my young adult life. I struggled through too many > years of college using no adaptive techniques save an old camera lens > used as a magnifying glass. It wasn't until my early-to-mid twenties > that I miraculously became connected with the Braille Institute and > began to learn about magnification devices, campus DSP services, and > the Department of Rehabilitation. All this was an improvement, of > course, and the glass ceiling I had come to feel pressed against but > had no idea there was anything I could do about it, loosened a little. > However, by the time I finished graduate school at nearly 30, I had > chronic headaches, backaches, neck pain and all the other discomfort > and indignity that comes with perpetual stooping and squinting. And I > was learning to acknowledge the difficult fact that, in all my years > of college, I could never really keep up with the readings. I didn't > even know how to touch type until my last semester of graduate school. > So maybe I was doing more than all my sighted friends and family put > together--higher education, international travel, etc., but I knew I > had to work at least twice as hard and still not really keep up with > my peers. How could I possibly leave the comfortable bubble of > academia and truly have a successful career? All of the same > insecureties I experienced before acquiring low-vision techniques were > creeping back. > > In 2004, in my late twenties, I finally encountered the Federation, > spent quality time with competent blind individuals who were doing > even more ambitious things than I, and realized I had a lot more to > learn. I attended the Louisiana Center for the Blind in 2007, learned > to use and love JAWS & braille, surprised myself in the woodshop, > conquered my greatest nemesis, cane travel, and learned to consciously > and unconsciously use the rich diversity of non-visual information > that is in the environment all around us. > > Do I use my residual vision? Sure. I just have a better quiver of > tools to draw from and many more options to problem solve all those > day-to-day and even bigger life issues that we all face as blind > people. I have a better understanding of exactly how much I **can't** > see and I find that, more often than not, non-visual techniques are > more efficient, and best of all, they allow me to stand and sit > straight--great for your posture & body, even better for your > confidence and sense of well-being. The NFB has brought dignity and > grace into my life and made me a more effective, efficient, and > competent person. Especially in the current economic climate, we must > be able to compete effectively with our sighted peers more than ever > and ensure that employers see past our blindness and primarily as > qualified to do the job, regardless of how we choose to do it. > > In all that I do to give back to the NFB and the organized blind > movement, the mission I hold nearest and dearest to my heart is > convincing both blind and sighted alike that non-visual technique, > training, and technology is as vitally important to someone with > residual vision as it is to someone who is totally blind. The notion > that "(I/he/she/you) can still see and don't need (braille, a cane, > JAWS, etc.)" is a frame of mind that will only cement in that glass > ceiling. It is a mentality that I have not only encountered with > low-vision folks and the general public, but was implicit in the > services I received from the Department of Rehabilitation, and I feel > it unnecessarily hindered my progress towards full employment. Of > course, on this listserve, I am mostly preaching to the choir, but > this is a theme that I find myself coming back to over and over and > over again and if the statistic that only about 10% of blind people > are totally blind, then we have a lot of work to do. How can we > really empower blind people if they don't first identify as blind and > see & experience for themselves how empowering it is to be able to do > things effectively without taxing their residual vision? Dr. Jernigan > comes to this in "Dishwashing Tapes," and my mission is to, first and > foremost, lead by example, and secondarily, to take advantage of as > many teachable moments as I can in my daily life to demonstrate that > yes, I "can still see some," but choose to use the same skills as a > totally blind person, because it is more effective. > > As of 2010, I work for a living, pay taxes, made my first stock, 401k, > and IRA investments, am paying down debts, and have the relative > luxury of a chronic Starbucks habit, getting semi-regular manicures, > and going out to eat or otherwise indulging without that heavy stone > in the pit of my stomach that my debit card will be declined because > my Social Security funds didn't last past the first two weeks of the > month. I am still focused on career development--I still have goals > to achieve, but I can honestly say that I have never felt happier or > more on track to achieving those goals than I do now. In the identity > struggle over "I'm not blind, I'm not sighted" that so many low-vision > people stagnate in, I have learned that it is tremendously more > valuable to identify as blind first, and use my residual vision where > it's useful and be aware of its limitations. > > So much for my two cents--we'll chalk it up to inflation--thanks to > all of you who read this far. I hope it gives some food for thought > and helps Mary out with her paper. Feel free to quote or contact me > for more info as needed. > > Cheers! > > -- > Serena Olsen, MAIPS, NCLB > Staff Assistant, Japan Society of Northern California (www.usajapan.org) > Braille Instructor, Lions Center for the Blind (www.lbcenter.org) > President, NFBC East Bay (nfbc-east-bay at googlegroups.com) > > "We are all born to be the hero of our own story." --Deepak Chopra > > _______________________________________________ > Nfbc-info mailing list > Nfbc-info at nfbnet.org > http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfbc-info_nfbnet.org > To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for Nfbc-info: > http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nfbc-info_nfbnet.org/genesisrenata%40hotmail.com 		 	   		  