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” →

Featured

See, Strechay & Momoa

Hi everyone! This post was written by our boys — Kai who is 17 and legally blind and Cash who is 21 and typically sighted — about their recent travel to Canada to visit the set of the Apple TV+ original See! That’s right, they even got to meet Jason Momoa and watch a fight scene in a cave, as it was being filmed. (Season 1, Episode 6 – which aired this past weekend.) The post is wrapped up with comments from both dad and mom. Enjoy!

From Kai’s Perspective:

My brother Cash and I’s trip to Canada taught me so much and it was a great experience. We traveled to Vancouver to meet my mentor Joe Strechay, who is the blindness consultant on a new Apple+ TV show called See. Joe is an awesome guy who has helped me learn how to thrive with a visual impairment, so I was super excited about the trip. Continue reading “See, Strechay & Momoa” →

The Process of Letting Go

After several months wholly focused on resolving the instructional materials issues at my son’s high school, it was time to turn our attention towards the future. We opened a Vocational Rehabilitation case for my son and met with the local university’s disability services director regarding dual enrollment. Both meetings were emotionally draining as I realized that the process of advocating for my son’s needs in the educational and career environments will always be a challenge.

Now that my 16-year-old son is fully transitioned to Braille, Nemeth, cane usage and assistive technology he understands what he needs in order to be successful. He also understands that he is the best person to quickly identify challenges and attempt to solve issues through clear communication. I’m so proud of the growth he’s experienced over the last 6 years of vision loss. I’m learning to step back and let him lead. As a mom who has fought daily for his needs over the last six years this “letting go” is very emotional. Continue reading “The Process of Letting Go” →