[NFBMD] Blind side: Visually impaired Taneytown native has a radio show, teaches as he prepares for college

Thu Aug 17 00:43:43 UTC 2017

if you not not awere
my wife Adonnih Happiness Oguledo is expecting our first Child
together mee and my wife babygirl Obianuju! tochukwuThezih Oguledo I
cant wait 2b a father in December 2017 my Christmas gift

On 8/16/17, White, Scott via NFBMD <nfbmd at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> Blind side: Visually impaired Taneytown native has a radio show, teaches as
> he prepares for college
>
> Chris Nusbaum
> Chris Nusbaum of Taneytown laughs as he records jokes on his phone in the
> gathering room at Braille Enrichment for Literacy and Learning (BELL)
> Academy at the National Federation of the Blind in Baltimore on Thursday,
> August 3, 2017. (Jen Rynda/Baltimore Sun Media Group)
> Lisa Gregory
>
> Oh, the questions he has been asked and the stories he can tell. And as a
> visually impaired person, 19-year-old Chris Nusbaum, has always responded to
> those questions with grace and good humor. Sometimes even with a maturity
> far beyond his years.
>
> "I remember on the school bus a kid asked me if blind people got married,"
> said Nusbaum. "I said: 'Yes, of course. I know blind people who are married
> and have kids.' Then he asked me, 'But how do you know if she's pretty?'
> What a great example of the middle school mindset, huh? I replied, 'I may
> not know what she looks like on the outside, but I do on the inside and
> that's what really counts.' "
>
> According to Nusbaum, there are no wrong questions. Better to ask than not,
> offering an opportunity to educate and inform. And, "I think I have heard
> them all," he said. An especially frequent one is whether his other senses
> are heightened because of his blindness. The answer is no. "I don't have
> superhuman hearing," said Nusbaum, grinning.
>
> Nusbaum is confident and comfortable in his own skin. Political correctness
> aside, he will tell you, "I have no problem calling myself a blind person; I
> am a blind person."
>
> But not just a blind person. Nusbaum is a gifted musician and singer, the
> host of an internet radio show, a talented writer, an advocate for the
> blind, an adored son and a good friend. "It's not that blind people can't do
> things," he said. "It's just that we do them differently."
>
> Nusbaum, who is from Taneytown, was born nine weeks early. As a result, he
> developed a version of retinopathy of prematurity, which causes abnormal
> blood vessels to grow in the retina and can result in the retina detaching
> from the back of the eye.
>
> His mother, Wendy Messersmith, remembers several months after his birth
> going on a vacation in the Outer Banks and "falling apart," she said. "I
> kept thinking he will never see this beautiful sunrise or this beautiful
> sunset. I cried. I had my pity party. Then I raised my child."
>
> She and her then-husband Mike Nusbaum discovered the National Federation of
> the Blind (NFB) and the National Organization of Parents of Blind Children.
> And she reached out to others through an online support group. "From early
> on I was guided by some wonderful people," she said. Messersmith
> specifically remembers the laundry basket and Hula-Hoop suggestions. "A
> blind child doesn't know that their toy is there so they don't reach for
> it," she said. "So, trying to teach crawling and walking were very
> difficult."
>
> Then someone from the online group suggested she put her son in a laundry
> basket. "Now the toy couldn't get out of his way," said Messersmith. And
> when he was a bit older and needed more exploratory room it was suggested
> she use a Hula-Hoop. "When the toy hit the Hula-Hoop it didn't move," she
> said. "This advice came from parents who had been there, done that."
>
> In fact, Nusbaum is now part of that same online group. "I am answering some
> of the same questions my mother asked for me," he said.
>
> One message from the group was consistent though. "Don't hold them back,"
> said Messersmith. "These kids need to be prepared to be on their own at some
> point."
>
> Nusbaum was a bright and inquisitive child who loved the radio. When most
> children were watching cartoons, he was listening to talk radio. "I
> pretended I had my own radio show and really thought I would grow up and do
> that," he said. And while he plans to be a teacher working with blind
> students, he has for the past several years hosted an internet radio show
> called "The Blind Side" that focuses on blind issues.
>
> By the time he had enrolled at Runnymede Elementary, Nusbaum, who had a
> one-on-one aide and a teacher of the visually impaired, began to realize he
> was different. "During recess on the playground the other kids would be in
> these little groups, and I would be alone," he recalled. "I tried to
> understand why that was."
>
> "Chris didn't realize he was blind," said Messersmith. "I told him: 'Chris,
> it is what it is. Yeah, there are days it's going to suck and times that
> it's not.' " Then with the sharp wit her son has inherited she said, "The
> only things I suggested he not choose to be is a pilot or a cab driver. But
> other than that, I told him the world was open to him."
>
> And he set about embracing it. An avid reader, as an 8-year-old he traveled
> to Los Angeles to compete in the Braille Challenge, an academic contest. He
> even made an appearance on Nickelodeon, participating in a segment on "Out
> of Sight: How Blind Kids See the World." And he made friends. In fact,
> "Everyone should have a friend like Chris," said Ari Lipka, who has known
> Nusbaum since first grade. The two often enjoyed going to the movies
> together with Lipka providing the commentary of what was happening on the
> screen.
>
> Nusbaum also has a natural affinity for music. "He can hear a song once and
> then play it back to you," said his mother. He was active in chorus during
> school and recently entertained fellow travelers with an impromptu
> performance on a cruise ship during a visit to Alaska.
>
> Six years ago came a life-changing event for Nusbaum. He discovered the NFB
> on his own terms. He had had exposure to the organization early on, when his
> parents would attend events. However, Nusbaum's own involvement with NFB
> changed when he attended the NFB Leadership and Advocacy in Washington,
> D.C., program in 2011. He specifically recalls a meeting with a
> representative of former Congressman Roscoe Bartlett's office and a
> discussion about the Technology Bill of Rights for the Blind. In an article,
> he wrote for The Braille Monitor, Nusbaum, said, "At that moment I thought I
> want to be a part of this (NFB). Here was an organization in which I could
> help fight discrimination and increase opportunities for all the blind."
>
> Since then, Nusbaum has served on the board of the National Association of
> Blind Students and served as president of the Maryland Association of Blind
> Students. He is also one of the founders of the Carroll County chapter of
> NFB.
>
> And he enjoys working with the NFB Braille Enrichment for Literacy and
> Learning program, which provides children with concentrated Braille
> instruction during the summer.
>
> "I think Chris has the heart for leadership," said Mark Riccobono, president
> of the NFB.
>
> This spring, Nusbaum, who graduated in 2016 from Francis Scott Key High
> School where he was a member of the National Honor Society, returned from
> nine months at the Louisiana Center for the Blind, a residential training
> facility. This was done in preparation for him going to college this fall.
> He will be only the second blind student to attend Lynchburg College in
> Virginia.
>
> And as he prepares for the next phase of his life, he says he wouldn't
> change anything. Nusbaum is often asked if he had the opportunity to see
> would he choose to do so.
>
> "Without hesitation, I wouldn't take it," he said. "Having been blind all my
> life, I have become used to life as a blind person. I wouldn't have it any
> other way."
>
> Copyright (c) 2017, Carroll County Times, a Baltimore Sun Media Group
> publication
> http://www.carrollcountytimes.com/news/neighborhoods/cc-nh-nusbaum-profile-20170808-story.html
>
> Disclaimer
>
> The information contained in this communication from the sender is
> confidential. It is intended solely for use by the recipient and others
> authorized to receive it. If you are not the recipient, you are hereby
> notified that any disclosure, copying, distribution or taking action in
> relation of the contents of this information is strictly prohibited and may
> be unlawful.
>
> This email has been scanned for viruses and malware, and may have been
> automatically archived by Mimecast Ltd, an innovator in Software as a
> Service (SaaS) for business. Providing a safer and more useful place for
> your human generated data. Specializing in; Security, archiving and
> compliance. To find out more visit the Mimecast website.
>

-- 
for if you persavear. you will conker never fear. try try try again