[nfbmi-talk] this is inforinformative

[joe harcz Comcast]

FYI, below is the link and complete text of yesterday’s Kalamazoo Gazette article about MCB Training Center student Ron Molles and his experience at the
MCBTC.  The article includes quotes from Mr. Molles, MCBTC Director Sherri Heibeck, and MCBTC instructor Barb Wile.  (This article will also be posted
on the MCB website’s Press Room page.)

Susan Turney

Communications & Outreach Coordinator

Michigan Commission for the Blind

Michigan Department of Energy, Labor & Economic Growth

direct line:  517-241-8631

fax:  517-335-5140

MCB toll-free: 1-800-292-4200

201 N. Washington Square, Second Floor

P.O. Box 30652

Lansing, MI 48909

www.michigan.gov/mcb
http://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2010/09/regaining_hope_after_losing_vi.html

Regaining hope after losing vision: Educator gains skills, inspiration at Michigan Commission for the Blind Training Center

Published: Tuesday, September 07, 2010, 11:30 AM

Rebecca Roe, Special to the Kalamazoo Gazette

Molles1.jpg

[Photo]  John A. Lacko / Special to the Gazette.  Facing challenges: Ron Molles, a 41-year-old student at the Michigan Commission for the Blind Training
Center, rides a bus back to the center after completing an assignment Thursday to practice his mobility skills in downtown Kalamazoo.

KALAMAZOO — At 41, Ron Molles has become a student again.

He’s not studying history, art or economics, but he is undergoing training at the
Michigan Commission for the Blind Training Center in Kalamazoo
in an attempt to regain some normalcy in his life.

Molles, who is from Waterford, north of Detroit, worked in K-12 education for the Oakland Intermediate School District. His own education involved attending
art school in California.

“My background was very visual so it was quite devastating when I started having issues with my vision,” he said.

Glaucoma in his left eye led to surgery in September 2009, but major complications resulted in the complete loss of sight in the eye.

“That was actually my best seeing eye because I have another condition in my right eye called keratoconous, which causes very distorted vision,” he said.

“I was just going to doctors appointments and sitting in my basement. I was kind of in limbo. I basically wasn’t living.” — Ron Molles

Molles is now legally blind.

Although he had intended to return to work, it was apparent by January that he wouldn’t be able to.

“I was just going to doctors appointments and sitting in my basement. I was kind of in limbo,” he said. “I basically wasn’t living.”

It was then that a counselor suggested Molles consider enrolling at the training center to help him adjust.

“The motto of the Commission for the Blind is ‘Changing lives, changing attitudes,’” said Sherri Heibeck, director of the center. “I think the training
center is one of the places that exemplifies that motto the best.”

About 250 people are served by the training center annually. They include vocational-rehabilitation clients looking to secure employment, as well as individuals
who want to learn to live independently in their homes, according to Heibeck.

Molles2.jpg

[Photo] John A. Lacko / Special to the Gazette.  Traveling a new path: Ron Molles heads out of the downtown Kalamazoo bus and train station as he practices
his mobility skills.

A multitude of programs are available at the training center. Students undergo mobility training, which involves things like traveling with a cane, using
the public transportation system, taking a taxi and going grocery shopping.

Technology is also a major component of training at the center, and the building will undergo an extensive technological upgrade in December.

“To me, technology has leveled the playing field for blind individuals more in the last 10 or 15 years than I think just about anything else,” Heibeck said.

Students are trained to use devices such as screen readers, talking GPS devices and electronic books. They’re taught how to e-mail, surf the Internet and
do word processing.

The center also features an adaptive kitchen where students can learn to cook meals.
The length of stay at the center varies by student, in part because of the variety of programs offered.

Molles is attending the personal-adjustment program. He began his stay on May 2, and his time at the center has been extended to Oct. 1 because of his mobility
training.
“Students don’t leave the center until they’re ready,” he said.

Although legally blind, Molles still has some sight and chose to do his mobility training “under the blindfold.”

“Basically what that means is when I go on mobility (training), I wear a blindfold that takes away my remaining vision so I’m traveling under complete darkness,
which is absolutely terrifying,” he said.

In the long term, the training should be beneficial.

“You have visions of being hit by a car or walking into a hole. It’s just scary,” Molles said. “But I have to say, doing the training under the blindfold
has given me a different perspective. It has given me a lot of confidence when I have to travel because now I can travel at night in the dark.”

Just a few months ago, Molles thought his life was over.

“I couldn’t go back to work, he said. “I couldn’t play sports. (He thought,) ‘What am I going to do for the rest of my life? I’m only 41.’”

But now he says the center has shown him there are many opportunities and possibilities for him to live a reasonably normal life.

Molles and some other students attended a kayaking event on a local lake. “We can do this stuff,” he said. “We can go kayaking, we can go skiing, we can
go dancing, we can do just about ... anything out there.”

Mollrd said he gets inspiration from other students facing similar challenges.

“There’s the fear and then there’s anxiety, but then there’s also the hope, and you’re inspired by the people you meet,” Molles said.

Barbara Wile, who has been an instructor for 37 years, agreed that students gain a lot by meeting other students.

“Students ... find out that there are other individuals who are in the same situation that they are,” she said. “There’s a lot of bonding that goes on amongst
the students, and friendships are formed that last lifetimes. And that’s a very important component of the training center. It’s not just teachers imparting
independent-living skills.”

Molles isn’t certain what will happen once his program ends. He may try to go back to school or work part time while volunteering, in order to ease back
into a normal routine. But one thing’s for sure — he’ll face whatever comes with a positive attitude.

“I feel that there are possibilities,” he said. “I don’t feel so hopeless.”

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