Well, I'm back for another entry, and I have a lot to talk about this time, so here we go. First of all, I now have my new laptop. I picked it up last week, and love it. I'ts a Dell Inspiron 9300, and it has all kinds of great stuff like a DVD burner, very nice widescreen display, and plenty of RAM and processing power. I also got upgrades and a couple pieces of assistive technology software. I got an upgrade for Jaws that will let me finally try Terminal Services/remote access, MAGic, Zoomtext, and Kurzweil. This is great because I have uses for all of them, and a lot of it's on the library computer, so I can demo software anywhere now.
Then the next day, the outreach department got their laptop, with Jaws installed, so now I have Internet access at my desk. Woohoo! This will help a lot. I just found it funny that I get 2 new computers to play with in one week.
And as I said last entry, I've been doing some reading for the CTEP book club. First, what I read last time. The first book was Career Perspectives, Interviews With Blind and Visually Impaired Professionals, by Marie Attmore. I saw this book, and thought it might give some good tips and ideas for Blind and low vision people working or looking for work. It was mildly interesting, but the title was kind of deceptive. There weren't really any interviews in this book. Instead, there were short descriptions of a person, and what they did followed by an interesting quote or thought on a topic. Some of these were interesting, but far from the interviews I was expecting. The book is short, so it might be a good book to quick check out from the library, but the next books I'd recommend reading instead.
The next book was What color is the Sun by Kenneth Jernigan. This was another pretty short book. It mainly told some stories from different Blind people and shared some thoughts on different topics. This one was a bit more interesting to read.
The most recent book I read was called What Blind People Wish Sighted People Knew About Blindness by Harry Martin. This book was a bit longer and rather interesting. It covers a variety of topics that might help sighted people understand Blindness and what to do when they encounter a Blind person. I like this book because it explains things in plain language instead of a lot of medical mumbo-jumbo. The book covers things like transportation, daily living, guide dogs, and even being a spouce of a Blind person. Some of the things I agreed with, while others I didn't so much. It was an interesting read though, and this would be the first book I'd recommend reading out of all of these.
One common theme all of these books touched on, which I totally agree with is how Blind people are just that, Blind, and nothing else. Sure there are some things we can't do like drive, fly a plane, etc, but most everything else is fair game, even many things people think we can't do. People often seem to feel cautious around Blind people, and don't talk to them like they would anyone else. Here's my thoughts on the subject.
First, I think Blind people should live a normal life like anyone else. Specialized training is very important like mobility, daily living, and technology training, but overall, I believe going to a public school is also important. Blind children shouldn't be sheltered and waited on all the time. There are definitely times where they will need help. I know when to ask for help when I can't do something, and have no problems asking for assistance. However, I grew up with a family that really pushed independence and self-reliance. If I needed something done my parents thought I could do or learn, they definitely wouldn't be doing it for me. "You want it, figure it out." is what they'd say. Of course they'd help if I had questions, but I learned a lot on my own as well, and I'm glad I did.
I also attended public school most of the time. In 7th grade I went to the ND School for the Blind for a year to learn Braille and some technology, but otherwise I went to school with everyone else in my class. This is very important because Blind people should also learn how to socialize with everyone else besides family and other Blind people. This might seem like common sense, but I've seen a lot of Blind people who really don't have good social skills simply because they never got the opportunity.
Finally, I'll briefly talk about some of the things I've done, that many people might not think Blind people would be able to do. I guess I should mention, and probably should have earlier, that I'm low vision, and not completely Blind. I have enough vision to get around pretty well by sight, watch TV and play video games, etc. I grew up on a farm, and often helped with a lot of the farm work like dealing with chickens, sheep, and cows. I didn't like it, but I did it anyway. I also biked a lot. I'd often bike to the nearest town about 3 miles away a couple times a week, and sometimes another town about 11 miles away. I also drove the ATV all the time for both work and fun. I did all kinds of crazy, probably stupid stuff, all farm kids do. I've also done some cool things I'll post about in the next post like attend the 2003 Ski For Light week in SD and the DO-IT Program at the University of Washington. These were excellent activities, and I'd recommend people looking into them for themselves or someone they know with a disability. But I'll talk more about that stuff next time. This entry is long enough already.
Well that about does it this time. If you actually made it through this entry, congratulations. Sorry it was so long this time. I'll try and keep them a bit shorter in the future. Any feedback or thoughts you might have, feel free to post them in the comments section. Till next time...
Then the next day, the outreach department got their laptop, with Jaws installed, so now I have Internet access at my desk. Woohoo! This will help a lot. I just found it funny that I get 2 new computers to play with in one week.
And as I said last entry, I've been doing some reading for the CTEP book club. First, what I read last time. The first book was Career Perspectives, Interviews With Blind and Visually Impaired Professionals, by Marie Attmore. I saw this book, and thought it might give some good tips and ideas for Blind and low vision people working or looking for work. It was mildly interesting, but the title was kind of deceptive. There weren't really any interviews in this book. Instead, there were short descriptions of a person, and what they did followed by an interesting quote or thought on a topic. Some of these were interesting, but far from the interviews I was expecting. The book is short, so it might be a good book to quick check out from the library, but the next books I'd recommend reading instead.
The next book was What color is the Sun by Kenneth Jernigan. This was another pretty short book. It mainly told some stories from different Blind people and shared some thoughts on different topics. This one was a bit more interesting to read.
The most recent book I read was called What Blind People Wish Sighted People Knew About Blindness by Harry Martin. This book was a bit longer and rather interesting. It covers a variety of topics that might help sighted people understand Blindness and what to do when they encounter a Blind person. I like this book because it explains things in plain language instead of a lot of medical mumbo-jumbo. The book covers things like transportation, daily living, guide dogs, and even being a spouce of a Blind person. Some of the things I agreed with, while others I didn't so much. It was an interesting read though, and this would be the first book I'd recommend reading out of all of these.
One common theme all of these books touched on, which I totally agree with is how Blind people are just that, Blind, and nothing else. Sure there are some things we can't do like drive, fly a plane, etc, but most everything else is fair game, even many things people think we can't do. People often seem to feel cautious around Blind people, and don't talk to them like they would anyone else. Here's my thoughts on the subject.
First, I think Blind people should live a normal life like anyone else. Specialized training is very important like mobility, daily living, and technology training, but overall, I believe going to a public school is also important. Blind children shouldn't be sheltered and waited on all the time. There are definitely times where they will need help. I know when to ask for help when I can't do something, and have no problems asking for assistance. However, I grew up with a family that really pushed independence and self-reliance. If I needed something done my parents thought I could do or learn, they definitely wouldn't be doing it for me. "You want it, figure it out." is what they'd say. Of course they'd help if I had questions, but I learned a lot on my own as well, and I'm glad I did.
I also attended public school most of the time. In 7th grade I went to the ND School for the Blind for a year to learn Braille and some technology, but otherwise I went to school with everyone else in my class. This is very important because Blind people should also learn how to socialize with everyone else besides family and other Blind people. This might seem like common sense, but I've seen a lot of Blind people who really don't have good social skills simply because they never got the opportunity.
Finally, I'll briefly talk about some of the things I've done, that many people might not think Blind people would be able to do. I guess I should mention, and probably should have earlier, that I'm low vision, and not completely Blind. I have enough vision to get around pretty well by sight, watch TV and play video games, etc. I grew up on a farm, and often helped with a lot of the farm work like dealing with chickens, sheep, and cows. I didn't like it, but I did it anyway. I also biked a lot. I'd often bike to the nearest town about 3 miles away a couple times a week, and sometimes another town about 11 miles away. I also drove the ATV all the time for both work and fun. I did all kinds of crazy, probably stupid stuff, all farm kids do. I've also done some cool things I'll post about in the next post like attend the 2003 Ski For Light week in SD and the DO-IT Program at the University of Washington. These were excellent activities, and I'd recommend people looking into them for themselves or someone they know with a disability. But I'll talk more about that stuff next time. This entry is long enough already.
Well that about does it this time. If you actually made it through this entry, congratulations. Sorry it was so long this time. I'll try and keep them a bit shorter in the future. Any feedback or thoughts you might have, feel free to post them in the comments section. Till next time...
posted by Jesse Anderson at 7:36 AM
1 Comments:
Woo hoo! I made it through the entire entry! It really isn't that long, and it's quite interesting. How was working on the farm? I think it sounds like an adventure, but then I've never had to do it. Your new computer is sweet, and I'm sort of afraid to play video games with you now. I'm excited for the next installment of "awesome things you wouldn't believe Jesse has done"; I might write a list of my own on my blog. Thanks Jesse!
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