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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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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What Is the Hardest Challenge You’ve Faced as The Parent of a Blind or Low Vision Child? (Plus, Resources To Help)

Hi! If you feel alone raising a child who is blind or has low vision, I hope this collaboration with our friend Chris Webb of Our Blind World will help!

Last week on Instagram we asked the following question: What is the hardest challenge you’ve faced as the parent of a blind or visually impaired child?

The responses were plentiful + eerily similar + fell into three categories: Acceptance, Community & Accessible Education.

Below are the responses from our followers* + some resources that may help.

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“Should” Parents of Blind Kids Learn Braille?

Today I mailed off my final project in hopes of earning my national braille transcriber certification from the Library of Congress! It’s a 35 page manuscript and I must pass with an 80+.

In November 2018 we went through a formal complaint and mediation process with our school district because Kai was not receiving timely, accurate braille materials for his math and science classes. We “won” at mediation and things got much better, but while fighting for braille I felt so helpless. My son was completely at their mercy. It was then, that I decided I wanted to learn to create braille materials, and I set the goal to get certified by the time he graduates high school.

Y’all, when I registered for training to become a braille transcriber in Feb 2019, I didn’t even know the braille alphabet! I honestly cannot believe I’ve made it to this point.

Parents of kids who are blind or low vision often ask if they “should” learn Braille. Here are my thoughts on that, and my answer may surprise you!

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The Fight For Equal Educational Access Continues

We are grateful for the support of NFB in our fight for equal educational access. Here is a link to the NFB article chronicling our experience: https://www.nfb.org/blog/equal-access-education-nfb-priority

Are you or a loved one utilizing a virtual educational platform for learning this year? If so, please complete the Educational Technical Survey by NFB here: https://www.nfb.org/programs-services/legal-program/education-technology-survey

We’d love to hear from you. Please give our post a like, leave a comment or complete our contact form to be featured.

It Takes a Village: Even in a Pandemic.

As the pandemic throws curve ball after curve ball and families and schools struggle to adapt we, at Navigating Blindness, are excited to launch our new series entitled “It Takes a Village.” Today we will hear from Sarah Immerfall as she explains what her son’s village looks like in the midst of a pandemic.

We’d love to hear from you too. If you’d like to share your story, please reach out for specifications using our contact form. Thank you!

Guest Post by Sarah Immerfall

Hi! My name is Sarah and my son, Siah, was born completely blind. He has a condition called Oculoauriculovertebral Syndrome that caused microphthalmia and he wears bilateral scleral shells. He just turned 4 and is finally past a lot of medical treatment for issues unrelated to his vision, and we are so excited to focus solely on his progress! Continue reading “It Takes a Village: Even in a Pandemic.” →

Navigating My Blindness by Kerry Kijewski

We love featuring stories of people making a difference in the blindness community. Kerry and her brother Brian are making waves – radio waves – on their show Outlook. We hope you enjoy Kerry’s post about growing up with sight loss and finding her voice in advocacy.

Guest post by Kerry Kijewski

In disability activist Judy Heumann’s book Being Heumann: An Unrepentant Memoir of a Disability Activist, she says she believes she was meant to have a mother who would not give up on her daughter who was born with a physical disability. I don’t know about that in my case, but I do know I am lucky to have been given the advantages and foundation from my parents. I recognize my privilege, having them firmly in my corner.
This doesn’t mean I have it all figured out (no matter how much I wish I did), even as I am staring down forty in a few short years. I am further along because of the support I grew up with and still count on today. Continue reading “Navigating My Blindness by Kerry Kijewski” →

Feel the Facts by Kai Owens (17)

To wrap up our month of braille literacy guest blogs, I’ve asked Kai to share his thoughts about braille literacy. Kai has helped several families, with children who are losing their sight, to understand how braille is helpful & relevant in 2020. Kai is now a college-bound senior in a mainstream, public high school and he is at the top of his class. Here’s what he wants you to know about braille.

Feel the Facts by Kai Owens

30% of all blind people are employed, which means 70% are not. 90% of the employed are braille readers. This means that if you do not read braille then there is only a 3% chance that you will be employed in your lifetime. THREE PERCENT!

So, for every 100 blind people who do not read braille there will be only 3 who are employed.

Continue reading “Feel the Facts by Kai Owens (17)” →

Becoming a Certified Braille Transcriber by Elizabeth Symington, Founder UEB Study Group

July is braille literacy month on Navigating Blindness and we are honored to feature a blog post by Elizabeth Symington, CBT. She is a fearless leader in the Braille Community and a dear friend.

My Story of Becoming a Certified Braille Transcriber
By Elizabeth Symington

I was introduced to braille while attending art school in San Francisco, CA. One day while at the library, I discovered a picture book for children who are blind. At this point, I’d never met a blind person, nor did I even know there were picture books for the blind. I was instantly captivated.

The braille picture book is one of my childhood favorites, “A Color of His Own,” by Leo Lionni. The pictures looked like a wall fresco; they rose off the page. Instead of using color, different textures were utilized to describe the pictures. It was also a fun decoding game since the story was in braille and in print. Continue reading “Becoming a Certified Braille Transcriber by Elizabeth Symington, Founder UEB Study Group” →