Preparing Blind Students for Life After High School: How Compass Builds Skills, Confidence, and Direction

By Marisol Carmona

The Transition to the Teen Years

If your child has reached the high school years, you have likely already discovered that helping a child navigate life as a blind/low vision (BLV) individual comes with challenges that are not always “as easy as pie.” Now your child has entered the exciting, though sometimes tricky, teen years, and it may feel like you have been dropped into a whole new dimension. Hormones are raging, fitting in becomes a daily priority, and you keep hearing words like transition planning, independence, and adulthood.

Beyond wishing there were a step-by-step manual to guide you through these years, your focus is simple: you want your child to be happy, to thrive, and to proudly walk across that stage at the end of senior year. At least that is how my mom felt when she was in your shoes. At this point you may be wondering, How can I best support my student while they’re in high school so they are well-prepared for an independent life after high school?

My Personal Transition Story

My name is Marisol Carmona. I am a coach for parents of BLV youth at the Perkins School for the Blind’s Transition Center. In addition to guiding families through the transition journey, I am also congenitally blind. While I eventually earned a college degree, moved to the big city, secured a full-time job, and later completed a Master’s degree in Social Work, my own transition to college was far from smooth.

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There’s Help Available If Your Blind Student Plans to Attend College

If your blind child or student plans to attend college, this post is for you! It includes a summary of important information regarding transition services, followed by an overview of our personal experiences with the Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency (GVRA). And even if you don’t live in Georgia this post provides a great foundation for understanding what may be available in your state.

What is vocational rehabilitation?

The Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency (GVRA) helps individuals with disabilities secure, maintain, or regain employment through personalized services, including career counseling, training, funding, and assistive technology. Serving individuals with physical, mental, or emotional disabilities, the agency offers comprehensive, customized support to foster independence and career growth across the state.

(Note: Some states have a Commission for the Blind that specifically services blind and low vision individuals. Georgia does not.)

I’ve heard it’s a real pain to deal with this program. Is it?

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Parents, braille will be much harder for your students to obtain.

Hi everyone, I’m devastated that the Trump administration’s anti- diversity, equity, and inclusion policies target people with sensory loss. The Department of Education recently used the policy to cancel grants that funded our nation’s major braille training programs. No training = Less braille access.

DIVERSITY: Blind, low vision, and DeafBlind students represent diversity in the general student population.
EQUITY: Blind students have the right to receive educational materials in accessible formats such as braille.
INCLUSION: Our students have the right to be included in all aspects of public life and community.
The Department of Education is using these DEI terms to cancel grants that serve our community! We can’t let that happen!

You may remember, that I fought a vicious battle to obtain braille for Kai’s high school math and science classes. We ‘won’ in mediation, and Kai got what he needed, and we made braille access easier for all students in our district, but now the nation’s current and future braille readers are at risk.

BELOW IS THE INFORMATION YOU NEED TO KNOW

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Vision Impairment & Mental Health: A Collaborative Connection

By our guest, Janice Barrocas, LPC, CRC

The transition to college or a career can be overwhelming for students with vision loss, and therapy can offer vital support during this pivotal time. There are so many questions. Unsure when to apply for vocational rehabilitation services? Surprised to find the school district wants loaned accessibility equipment back? Scrambling to secure more orientation and mobility (O&M) training on short notice to travel independently on an unfamiliar campus? Struggling with self-advocacy as parents who previously took the lead in communicating with teachers step back? Therapy helps young adults process these challenges, build confidence, and develop the emotional resilience and practical skills needed for a more successful and empowered transition.

Adjusting to vision loss counseling is essential for individuals and families coping with blindness, low vision, or progressive vision loss. Beyond the physical challenges, vision loss can lead to grief, anxiety, depression, and a loss of independence. Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) and Certified Rehabilitation Counselor (CRC) Janice Barrocas has dedicated her career to helping people navigate these challenges through her specialized counseling practice, Adjusting to Vision Loss.

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A Great Resource for Transition-Age Youth with Visual Impairments

Transitions are hard for everyone, but can be especially fraught with anxiety for blind and low vision students and their parents. I’m excited to introduce you to a valuable resource that can help. MEET EMPOWER VI!

I’ve had the pleasure of contributing two video segments to their program. And I appreciate that they are committed to sharing a variety of perspectives on important topics.

The video below is me discussing the importance of allowing my blind son Kai to take risks. It’s titled, Kim Owens: The Dignity of Risk. It is part of a free course that parents can access by clicking here. If you take the free course, please also take the survey at the end. The data is important in supporting this work.

The next video is me sharing about our choice to send Kai to a local public school instead of the state’s school for the blind. It’s titled, Kim Owens: Public School Perspective. It is part of a free course that can be accessed by clicking here.

To check out more videos like these, visit the EMPOWER VI YouTube channel!

LEARN MORE ABOUT EMPOWER VI
At EMPOWER VI our goal is to support transition-aged students with visual impairment, especially those in rural communities, by providing the tools, resources, and community they need to succeed after high school.

Whether you’re a student, a family member or a professional, we offer free, virtual resources that help bridge the gap between high school and what comes next, including postsecondary education, employment, and independence.

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Use Your Voice: Advocacy Strategies for Children’s Vision

Did you miss the Eye Health and Vision Resources for Parents and Caregivers Webinar?
Guess what? You can watch my presentation by clicking here.

Eye Health and Vision Resources for Parents and Caregivers

ID: 2 adults with 2 young children on their backs.

Hi, It’s Kim and I’m thrilled to announce that I’ll be presenting at the upcoming Use Your Voice: Advocacy Strategies for Children’s Vision FREE webinar!

Join Prevent Blindness and the National Center for Children’s Vision and Eye Health on Wednesday, June 4, 2025, from 2:00 p.m. until 3:15 p.m. ET for a 75-minute webinar Use Your Voice: Advocacy Strategies for Children’s Vision. In this webinar, participants will gain a deeper understanding of the advocacy process; the value and impact that individual and community voices have on the advocacy process; and how to effectively advocate for public policies that govern health care, eye care, and school systems to ensure responsiveness to children’s vision health needs.

This webinar will explore the following topics:

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Disability Parenting & Divorce: Should I Stay or Should I Go?

Hi, it’s Kim and that’s me up in the hot-air balloon flying over the Sonoran Desert. It was a bucket list adventure marking a major life event: Divorce.

A colorful hot-air balloon soars above a desert cliff covered in saguaro cacti.

One month shy of our 28th wedding anniversary (31 years together), Chris and I amicably parted ways. In 2009 I got sick with a serious autoimmune disease and I thought my life was, literally, over. Thankfully, I found a great rheumatologist who improved my quality of life but fatigue, malaise, and the ongoing cost of treatment took a huge toll on our relationship.

Then in 2012, when our youngest son Kai was ten, a retinal specialist diagnosed him with progressive sight loss. We were overwhelmed, grieving and ignorant of disability models (medical/social). Over time, we realized that the social model of disability felt right to us. We believed that the difficulties encountered were not because of my illness or Kai’s blindness, but because of the lack of accessibility and social support for disabled individuals. If you are new to all this, I highly recommend Emily Ladau’s book, Demystifying Disability.

We quickly found out that advocating for a blind child’s education is a challenge. Blindness is rare and certified teachers of the visually impaired are in short supply (and underpaid). Plus, school administrators don’t want to allocate their budgets to pay for braille or assistive technology for a single student. They’d prefer to use funds for something that multiple students will utilize. So, I used my extremely limited energy to hold our rural school district accountable to providing appropriate accommodations. (I fought like hell.)

My goal: To ensure that Kai had access to materials at the same time as his peers.

To be clear, there were other marital issues but the stress of my own disability and the complexities of disability parenting were major stressors. Thankfully, both my boys (Cash & Kai) are happy, independent adults now and I can focus on my own health, wellness, dreams, and goals.

So as an aspiring author I embraced Nora Ephron’s words, “Everything is copy” and publicly committed to unpacking the research about the 87% divorce rate between parents of disabled kids. I read primary research, personal essays, articles and listened to podcasts and then…

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My 10-Year-Old Son Was Blind and No One Knew!

Hi, it’s Kim and I want to tell you about an important piece of legislation called the Early Detection of Vision Impairment (EDVI) Act. Did you know that public school children receive federally funded hearing screenings? The EDVI Act would provide vision screenings, too!

Why is this important? Well…

My 10-Year-Old Son Was Blind and No One Knew!

In first grade, I noticed that my son kept pushing on his eyes and pulling at the lateral corners. Eventually, the area around his eyes became bruised. The doctor said it was allergies and prescribed over-the-counter medicine, but it got worse. Click here to read my full essay about the EDVI Act.

Want to know more? You’re in luck! I recently had the opportunity to chat with Julie Grutzmacher, Director of Patient Advocacy and Population Health Initiatives at Prevent Blindness. In our discussion, we talked more about EDVI and I shared a list of questions I wished I had asked Kai’s first eye doctor. Check out Episode 2 of the Focus on Eye Health podcast hosted by advocate Christopher Hord. Click here to listen.

Would you like to support the EDVI legislation? Click here to learn how you can help because your voice matters! And if you’d like to start using your experience and voice for change, please check out the the ASPECT Patient Engagement Program. I learned how to confidently and succinctly share my family’s story to a wide-range of audiences. I had years of experience mentoring other families, and the IEP process gave me plenty (read: more than enough!) opportunities to advocate for my son’s accommodations, but ASPECT gave me the tools to push for change on a state and national level. I highly recommend this program to anyone who wants to tap into a powerful community of change-makers and flex their advocacy muscles.

Do you want to become a stronger blindness advocate? If so, click here to learn more and apply. Be sure to tell them Kim Owens sent you!

New Uber Policy to Support Riders with Service Animals

Uber has launched a new program to support service dog handlers.

In simple terms, the program allows service dog handlers to self-identify that they will be traveling with a legitimate service dog. This information will be provided to the driver along with reminders about ADA law and Uber’s service dog policies. Note: Emotional support animals do not qualify and must use Uber pet.

Upon hearing about this new program, Kai’s first question was, “When will the drivers be notified? Because if it’s before they accept the ride, I’ll be waiting much longer.”

Uber’s communications did not explicitly state the answer, so I investigated by going through the process myself.

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The Power of the Long White Cane Shines Bright in Grand Junction

Guest post by Rob Harris #AdvocateDad

Three years ago, the Young Visionaries began a mission to educate our community about life as white cane users. What started as a simple walk down Main Street in Grand Junction, Colorado, has blossomed into an inspiring movement of awareness and change. Yesterday, we celebrated that journey with our White Cane Day 2024 event—and what a day it was!

Under the dedicated leadership of Joanne Stamp, Rob Harris, and Erin Allard, this year’s event was a resounding success. Their tireless efforts, along with our amazing volunteers and community partners, made the day exceed all expectations. Together, we hosted a vibrant resource fair featuring more than 15 local organizations. The Center for Independence graciously provided the perfect venue, welcoming over 70 attendees eager to learn and connect.

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