[Nfbf-l] News paper article on Sabrina

[Sherri]

Pat, thanks so much for posting this and Sabrina, great job! Very proud of 
you and all you have done!
Sherri
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Patricia A. Lipovsky" <plipovsky at cfl.rr.com>
To: "NFBF List" <nfbf-l at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Sunday, February 28, 2010 10:21 PM
Subject: [Nfbf-l] News paper article on Sabrina


Way to go Sabrina!!


Advocate hosts show about blindness, cooking

By DEBORAH CIRCELLI

STAFF WRITER

deborah.circelli at news-jrnl.com

DAYTONA BEACH — A local advocate is making her national television debut on 
a new show that helps people who are blind or visually impaired with cooking
tips.

Sabrina Deaton, 35, of South Daytona co-hosts a couple of segments this 
coming week with a South Florida doctor discussing medical breakthroughs and 
research
dealing with macular degeneration.

‘‘Cooking Without Looking’’ will appear Monday through Thursday at 6 a.m. on 
the Fine Living Network, which is on Bright House Network’s digital cable 
channel
180.

Deaton, president of the Daytona Beach Chapter of the National Federation of 
the Blind of Florida, has been participating in some shows as a co-host 
throughout
last year in South Florida, where the show has aired on and off for about 
five years on a PBS channel.

Deaton, who is visually impaired, first appeared as a guest in 2007 when she 
brought the show, which is generally filmed in Boynton Beach, to Daytona 
Beach
to film at the Center for the Visually Impaired. She did an episode where 
she cooked with her son, who is now 8.

Deaton at the time was director of the National Federation of the Blind 
Newsline service where people can hear newspaper articles read over the 
phone.

The cooking show uses guest chefs who are blind or visually impaired. They 
provide recipes and directions on how to have fun and stay safe in the 
kitchen.

Renee Rentmeester, creator and executive producer of the show, said Deaton 
brings a lot to the show because she is young, which challenges stereotypes 
that
people only go blind when they are older.

Plus, she said, Deaton has experience with and knowledge about macular 
degeneration.

 ‘‘For so many years, it’s sort of been kept a secret almost like a little 
closed society, but any of us can go blind at any time,’’ Rentmeester said.

 ‘‘This show is about showing not the disability but the ability of people 
with disabilities.’’

Deaton was 25 when she was diagnosed with Stargardt’s Disease, a form of 
macular degeneration that caused her to lose her central vision but not her 
peripheral
vision.

She was 23 when she started noticing vision problems while working at a 
newspaper in Ohio and afterward she was not able to pass a driver’s license 
renewal
test. What’s important about the cooking show, she said, is it appeals to 
all audiences. But for the blind, she said it’s ‘‘a form of them getting 
back
their independence.’’

The show helps them get in the kitchen despite their condition by teaching 
various techniques. The show describes everything that is going on, she 
said,
for people who are unable to see ‘‘It’s very exciting,’’ Deaton said. ‘‘This 
is something that combines two of my passions — cooking and blindness 
advocacy.’’

She plans to go to South Florida next month to film her cooking segment 
about making a type of bean soup. She developed it after raiding her pantry 
one
day. She’s not able to drive and it was cold outside; she couldn’t get to a 
grocery store, so she went into her pantry.

 ‘‘I’m thinking of doing that and talking about how important it is to have 
a well-stocked pantry,’’ she said.

The show can also be seen at visionworldfoundation.net , which is the parent 
company of the show, and on the ‘‘Cooking Without Looking’’ Face­book site.

[Caption for photo below]

 ‘‘Cooking Without Looking’’ is the first TV show produced especially for 
blind and visually impaired people.
Fine Living Network

MORE ONLINE: Watch the show by following the link at:

news-journalonline.com

[Caption for photo below]

Sabrina Deaton, left, of South Daytona and Dr. Marc Gannon of South Florida 
co-host segments of a new television show about ‘‘Cooking Without Looking’’
for people who are blind or visually impaired. Deaton is a longtime advocate 
for visually impaired people.
Fine Living Network

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02/20/2010
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