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.
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.
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.
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…
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.
In the month leading up to the kick-off of the 2024 Paralympics in Paris, Navigating Blindness featured sixteen blind and low-vision athletes. These athletes shared their adventures and their thoughts about why it’s so important to give disabled children the opportunity to participate in a wide range of activities. Below you will meet the participants and read about how staying active helped them overcome adversity.
Our very own Kai Owens who lost his sight at the age of ten to ABCA4 retinopathy and autoimmune retinopathy shared a short video of himself skimboarding at our local beach. For him, watersports relieves anxiety and helps him feel included with a great group of ‘beach’ friends he grew up with. (You can watch him skim by clicking here.)
Kai also shared three videos of himself from a brothers’ trip to the Oregon Coast. In one video, he is seen crossing a stream on a large fallen log by navigating with his white cane. (Click here to watch.) In another video, he’s carefully navigating across a beach filled with boulders. (Click here to watch.) In the last video, Cash and Kai are at the summit of God’s Thumb formation. When we asked if it was scary Kai said, “Yes, but the fresh air, elevation changes, sounds of the wind and waves, and being with Cash was great! I crushed it!” (Click here to watch.)
Early on our family discovered that brothers’ trips were a great way for the boys to bond while doing activities they love. Their first brothers’ trip was to Erik Weihenmayer’s NYC Summit! Speaking of Erik, we featured him, too!
Erik Weihenmayer’s blindness was caused by juvenile retinoschisis, which affected his vision from birth and eventually caused him to go completely blind by his early teens.
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.
Hi everyone, Hope you are well. Blog updates are few and far between these days as Kai is living his best life as a junior in college! His major is music theory and his minor is jazz drumset. The college is still fulfilling all of his accommodations and he’s really happy at UGA.
Kai and his guide dog Pride have hit their stride together as a working team and Kai loves the companionship. He says that other students saw his cane as a barrier to conversation but Pride is a conversation magnet and his social life is going strong. He has recently taken over as leader of a jazz consortium in Athens, Georgia called Swing Theory. A group of local jazz performers who get together to jam and gig at local venues. You can read more about it by clicking here.
Kai and Pride live with two roommates just off campus. They can easily walk to campus and then use the university’s transit system to get to class. If the weather is terrible or he needs to be someplace early, the university sends a paratransit van to assist. He’s still encountering some unfortunate discriminatory issues with rideshare (you can read more about that here) but otherwise no complaints.
Hi everyone, I’m excited to introduce you to a new project by author Jon Marin. His new book, “See Us” is being released soon and it addresses a crucial factor in the lives of young people who are blind and visually impaired – finding meaningful work. Currently, in the US, 70% of blind and visually impaired people do not work. This is due to a variety of factors including prejudice, ableism, education, training and more, and Jon addresses several huge obstacles in his work as the Program Director of The Career Discovery Project. We can learn a lot from him and his clients in his new book “See Us.”
We’d like to thank the fabulous team over at Bold Blind Beauty for choosing Kai to be featured in Beyond Sight Magazine’s Men In Motion. Below is a bit about their online magazine and a link to Kai’s feature article and video.
From Beyond Sight: In 2021 we will be introducing you to incredible young people like Kai Owens who are doing extraordinary things. These young people are extraordinary because in spite of the barriers they encounter daily they persist. Many have learned from an early age to self-advocate and the strength, resilience, and tenacity they possess will change perceptions.
Navigating Blindness 