“You Don’t Look Blind”

Hello everyone,

I hope you’re all well.

I’m sure some of you will be familiar with today’s topic but for those of you that are not, I hope it’ll be more of an educational post.

As a blind person myself, people often say to me ‘you don’t look blind’. This is something that many blind or visually impaired people are told and it can often leave you puzzled or wondering, “what does being blind actually look like?” Stop and think about that question for a minute, do you know the answer? Many people do not. For example, I am registered as severely sight impaired but have light perception so therefore I do not see total darkness.

There are many misrepresentations of sight loss and typical ideas of your average blind person, some of these stereotypes include:

• Blind and visually impaired people constantly wear dark sunglasses.
• The older generation are the ones who are affected by sight loss.
• Blind or visually impaired people are incapable.
• Blind or visually impaired people cannot be confident.
• Blind or visually impaired people are often seen as being miserable.
• People with a vision impairment cannot be fashionable, can’t apply makeup themselves, be beautiful or express who they truly are.

These depictions of blindness are rarely the case, they may have been true at some point but this is not the case in contemporary society. They have been interpreted by the media’s wrongly perceived ideas and people’s own opinions/views on this topic.

There are many reasons for why people may have these ideas; it may be because some people with sight loss act or present themselves in this way, their age – often a lot of eye conditions are linked to older people so they don’t expect to see a young person with a visual impairment, or that they do not portray characteristics such as being vulnerable or miserable and are in fact happy and outgoing.

Personally, I think it is a mixture of various factors that contribute to people’s perceptions. It can be how a person acts or how they present themselves, for example, wearing make-up. I also think that the way a person looks is very much a contributing factor; some people’s eye conditions affect their eyes, for example they may be sunken in or cloudy, but for others there may not be any visible signs when looking at their eyes and they just look like a sighted person’s. How a person walks is also something that people may assume if a person is blind or not, whether they walk confidently with a mobility aid or are being sighted guided, rather than looking down at their feet and being conscious whilst walking.

As I previously said, I think one of the main factors is how a blind person looks and dresses; there are many blind people, myself included who love fashion and like to be fashionable, wear make-up and keep up with the latest trends even though we are blind. Our disability doesn’t stop us from being fashionable!

There are many disabled people who don’t let their disability get in the way of them living life to the fullest, they are confident, smart, amazing in many ways, driven and open minded.

There are many ways of being able to do various tasks, we are lucky enough to have assistive technology, mobility aids, support groups, and people like myself who are trying to help others in the same or similar situations. These mean that we often do not fit the stereotypes of being blind as these gadgets or mobility aids enable us to be fully independent.

I want to address some questions which I often get asked about how I do certain things even though I have a visual impairment, therefore I don’t look blind.

How do you apply make-up?

I apply my make-up myself, I learnt to do this by practicing over and over again, being shown by my Mum, I was determined to be able to apply my make-up myself. It’s all about touch and memory.

How do you style your own hair?

I use tools such as straighteners and curlers but I did my research into ones that were the most accessible for a person with no useful vision, I also asked the blind community for their suggestions. My straighteners beep when they’re ready to use and my hair curler is extremely easy to use.

How do you keep up with the latest fashion?

When shopping, I always go with someone that I trust, usually my Mum and they can tell me what looks nice and what doesn’t. I mainly use the internet to keep up-to-date with the latest fashion.

We can be interested in fashion because we can feel fabric, ask those closest to us how they think we look, use screen-readers or magnifiers to look at items on the internet and even get assistance in shops if we need to.

How are you confident despite your disability?

Confidence is something that I struggled with for many years, but this has improved a lot over the last few years and it has made such a difference in my life. I am confident because I have dealt with a lot, learnt to stand up for myself, overcome many challenges and my disability has made me a stronger person.

How are you so independent?

I am independent because I have always encouraged to be as independent as possible, especially by my Mum and Dad. I have always been a person that likes to do things for myself, and often find it easier to learn that way.  I have never been wrapped up in “cotton wool” so to speak. I use a cane, I have assistive technology and I have supportive friends and family around me. I want to travel like sighted people, I want the freedom just like everyone else and want to try new experiences.

 

If you take anything from this post, I want you to remember that sight loss does not take over a person’s life and it does not define them as a person, Disabled people have dreams that they want to pursue, they have aspirations and they want to live life to the fullest, I know I do! Remember that a disabled person is so much more than their disability.

The next time you see a person with a visual impairment who doesn’t fit the typical notion of a blind or visually impaired person, think of the facts, not the misconceptions.  And have an open mind.

That concludes today’s post, I hope you’ve enjoyed reading and that some of you may have learnt something from it.

As always, thank you for reading!

Holly x

 

My Overall University Experience

I have now finished university and found out that I will be graduating with a 2:1. I can’t tell you how pleased I am with my result and how proud I am of myself as it’s not been easy, so I thought I’d write a post on my overall university experience as it’s the end of an era for me. I thought that it may help some of you, but it’s also something that I can look back on in the future.

I’ve split this post into each year of university so that I can discuss each one in more detail as they were all completely different.

I hope you enjoy this post! It’s a long one so grab a drink or a snack and enjoy!

Preparing for university

I first applied for university towards the end of 2013, I had previously attended several open days earlier in the year and contacted the universities and decided where to apply for and which courses I wanted to also apply for. I weighed up all the factors, and decided that York St John university was the university for me. The Head of Programme of the Children, Young People and Families course was really accommodating and seemed to understand my needs, she seemed approachable and willing to help me in every way possible. AT the time, I didn’t feel confident enough to live in halls of residence so I decided that I wanted to commute. I made sure that I did everything early such as applying for student Finance and DSA (Disabled Students Allowance), this meant that I received my DSA equipment early too which was a great advantage. For those of you that don’t know what DSA is, it is an allowance that disabled students can apply for, which means that they can have equipment to help them with their studies, support, mobility training and much more. During the summer of 2014, I received my A-level results meaning that I had got a place at my first choice university which was obviously York St John. I can’t tell you how happy I was, as I had basically convinced myself that I wasn’t going to get in. Everyone believed in me, but I didn’t believe in myself. I think this was a turning point for me though, as I realised that my hard work had paid off and that I could actually achieve something if I put my mind to it.

I also had a final meeting with the Head of Programme and Disability Support to double check that everything was in place, and how they could best support me. My Head of Programme also got my timetable early for me, so that I knew what days I had lectures, and so that I could learn the routes to the lecture and seminar rooms.

I had orientation and mobility training around campus a couple of weeks before my university journey started so that I knew the routes when I started lectures so that I had some idea of where I was going and also because the campus was quiet so it made it easier to carry out such training. I was extremely nervous about doing orientation and mobility training as I wasn’t the most confident cane user, and didn’t really like using one. You can read my story on embracing the cane here. I’m pleased to say that this was the first time that I really did enjoy using the cane and honestly did enjoy mobility training. After all this, I was just about ready to start my journey at York St John University.

First year

Like every student, starting university is a nerve-racking and daunting time, and my experience as a visually impaired student was no different. Like I said, I did orientation and mobility training around the university campus so that I could attempt to navigate campus with my long cane. I was nervous about using my cane around university as I hadn’t had the best experience of doing so in school, but I thought that university might be different so wanted to try and give it a shot.

Freshers week (welcome week) arrived and I was feeling both excited and nervous; excited for a new chapter of my life to begin but also nervous, as I had no idea of what to expect, didn’t know anyone and didn’t have any clue of what university life would be like. For anyone that doesn’t know what fresher’s week is, it’s a way of getting new students settled in and familiarising them with university life by holding events and having introductory lectures. I didn’t get involved with the events because they weren’t very accessible for me as a blind person and also the fact that I didn’t know anyone and didn’t really want to go on my own. I was quite nervous for the few weeks ahead because I thought everyone on my course would have made friends already and I’d be on my own but later on I found out that that wasn’t actually the case.

Once freshers week was over, it was time to start the course and therefore, lectures commenced. The first lecture I had, the lecturer told me that he had no idea that I was going to be in his lectures and that he didn’t know he had a blind student. This wasn’t true at all, my Head of Programme had reassured me that all the lecturers did know that I was going to be there and what they had to do. So as a consequence of him apparently not knowing, I hadn’t been sent any materials for the lecture so my note taker had to read everything out to me. This made me feel like I was back in school, not at university at all. What a great start! Luckily this all got sorted and this didn’t happen again. This was an issue that did not repeat itself. A positive outcome of this particular experience, was that the staff involved truly wanted to resolve the situation, rather than feel like they had to. Staff at my university looked beyond my disability. Other than that, there weren’t any major hiccups in first year which I was extremely happy about.

In terms of support, in the first semester I received note-taking support and library support but nothing else. I thought that I could be independent and do the majority of things myself. I soon realised that there was no harm in using extra support and learnt that this was invaluable in the long run. I also had proofreading support from then on, and personally I think it helped to boost my grades. The disability support service was very proactive in sorting support which was fantastic. This did not mean that there weren’t any challenges because they really were, but they helped resolve them to the best of their ability. In terms of accessing materials, I used my DSA equipment (laptop with Jaws screen-reader, braille display and ClearReader+).

I got all of the lecture slides sent to me beforehand in an accessible format, some lectures even provided me with image descriptions which was brilliant. Accessing books was a bit harder especially if they weren’t available as eBooks. Publishers are restricted by copyright laws which means that they can’t just distribute electronic copies of books, this meant that I had to request books that I required much earlier than my peers, in order for the library to get me an accessible copy. The library did everything they could to ensure that I had the books in an accessible format as quickly as possible.

The social aspect of university was something that I thought I’d struggle with, due to my negative experiences in school. However, at university, this was completely different. People came up to me and spoke to me, which I didn’t expect which really helped. I didn’t join any societies in my first year of university but made some good friends on my course. It’s important to remember that everyone comes from a different walk of life at university and there are many students with disabilities so you’re not alone.

Second year

I remember going into my second year of university feeling excited for the year ahead; something that I had never really felt whilst being in education. I will admit, second year was such a huge jump academically from the first; I don’t think we were fully prepared for how hard it was going to be. There were a couple of minor glitches like lecturers not sending me work in advance but this was all resolved quickly. Nevertheless, I finished second year on track for a 2:1 overall if I kept that standard of work up throughout third year…no pressure then!

Support in second year ran smoothly – there were no major issues and I once again was grateful for the support that I received.

I think second year was by far my favourite year in terms of the social aspect of university. I had a good, solid friendship group and we all got on really well. I also joined the disabled society, “superhuman society” as it was called. I also made some friends through that and was also asked to be a committee member so that helped me broaden my circle of friends. Some of my favourite memories have to be our regular visits to Pizza Hut and our cocktail evenings.

I spent the summer planning my dissertation and doing some research so that I could try and at least do some preparation and be ahead of the game as I was expecting that third year was going to be the most challenging year yet. Over the summer I had developed some problems with my eyes, I had no idea that this would continue into my third year of university.

Third year

Third year was very hard, extremely stressful and presented me with various personal challenges but I learnt a lot from those. I had problems with my eyes, resulting in me having to have an operation in January, right in the middle of my third and final year. I actually did some dissertation work whilst waiting to be called for my operation…dedication or what? I didn’t let that stop me though, I just got on with it and I feel like those challenges gave me the motivation to carry on and get through it. I was surrounded by incredibly supportive people and I couldn’t have done it without them. The university were really accommodating as well, providing me with extensions for my assignments and also any other support that I required.

The main piece of work was a 10,000 word dissertation. Before writing it, I didn’t think I even knew 10,000 words! It was by far the hardest piece of work that I’ve ever had to do but I am pleased to say that I achieved a 2:1. I’m so proud of it and all the effort that I put in towards getting the grade that I so wanted. As well as my dissertation, I also had several 5000 word essays to complete. I completed all of my work on my laptop, and also used my braille display and my OrCam for reading materials. I couldn’t have done my degree without this equipment, especially my laptop with Jaws screen-reader.

There were no major academic issues in my third year, all of the lecturers that I had had previously taught me so I definitely think that this was a bonus.

The support that I received in third year was invaluable, it made my final year a lot easier. Having support meant that I didn’t struggle on my own, it made tasks such as finding books and journals and proofreading so much easier. I felt very lucky with the support that I received throughout my time in higher education, especially third year, as it really helped with my studies. The only difficult part was not just being able to get books for my dissertation when and when I needed them, but the library did their best to accommodate and they did a great job of doing so. I think the support in third year was a step up from previous years, as I really got on with the people supporting me, they really understood my needs and went above and beyond to support me.

The social aspect of third year was interesting, as I really found out who my true friends were. The stress of third year tested friendships, but we all got through it which I’m extremely happy about. I’m so proud of all of my friends as they all achieved the grades that they wanted which they thoroughly deserve.

Overall thoughts

I am extremely pleased to say that I will be graduating with a 2:1 BA (Hons) in Children, Young People and Families! A 2:1 was the grade that I was hoping for. The stress really started to take its toll on me towards the end but I’m so glad it was worth it. If there’s one thing that I’ve learnt from my university experience is that hard work most certainly does pay off and determination is key.

So as you can tell, my overall experience of university has mainly been a positive one. There has been challenges along the way and it hasn’t all been plain sailing, but that’s to be expected. I know that everyone’s university experience is different, and I feel very lucky for the experience that I have had.

I’ve learned a lot whilst being at university, I ppreviously wrote a post about things that university has taught me which you can read here. My confidence has grown so much over the last three years, I also feel like I’ve really found my true self. I’ve also become so much more independent and I feel so much more comfortable in using a cane.

I could go into a lot more detail, but this is just a snapshot into my experience in higher education over the last three years.

I feel like I’ve wrote a book but before I finish this post, I’d like to thank a few people as I know some of them will be reading this post.

Firstly, I would like to thank my family, especially my Mum and Dad as they’ve always been there for me, supported me in everything that I’ve embarked on and made sure that I had the provisions and support in place in order to succeed. They really have been my rock.

I’d also like to thank my friends, they’ve always been there for me, and have given me some wonderful memories.

I’d like to thank everyone that’s ever supported me in education – you helped me get to where I am today through your hard work and dedication and I will forever be grateful. It’s given me some special people in my life. Many of you went above and beyond to ensure that I could succeed, and you looked beyond my disability and were willing to adapt and learn about my visual impairment.

I’d finally like to thank my readers; your support has really helped me and motivated me over the last couple of years. You’ve taken a keen interest in my blog, which then inspires me to write content for you all.

I could go on and on but this post is long enough already!

It’s the end of an era for me, I’m feeling both excited and nervous about the future. I’d like to work within the field of visual impairment, supporting people like myself so we will see where life takes me.

That concludes today’s post everyone, thank you so much for reading! If you got to the end then well done!

Are you a disabled student? What are your experiences of university? Let me know in the comments.

I hope this post has helped some of you.

I’ll be back soon with another post.

Holly x

My University Experience

Hello,

I hope you are all well.

After last week’s post on my mainstream school experience, this week I thought I’d follow on from that and do a post on my university experience. A lot of you requested this so I hope you enjoy! I love it when you suggest post ideas to me so keep them coming!

 

I applied for university towards the end of 2013, ready to get everything into place when I started in September 2014. The applying process went quite smoothly with a couple of minor hiccups along the way but nothing that couldn’t be sorted. Once I applied and everything was in place, it was a matter of just waiting for my A-level results, this was probably the worst waiting game of my life! To cut a long story short, I got better A-level results than I expected and got into my first choice university!

 

September finally came, I’d got all my DSA equipment, met my head of programme and done my orientation training round campus so that I at least had some idea of where I was going. Fresher’s week arrived and I was both excited and nervous, excited for a new chapter of my life to start but nervous because I had no idea of what to expect.

For anyone that doesn’t know what fresher’s week is, it’s a way of settling new students in by holding events and having introductory lectures. I didn’t really get involved with the events because they weren’t that accessible for me and also the fact that I didn’t know anyone and didn’t really want to go on my own. I was quite nervous for the few weeks ahead because I thought everyone on my course would have made friends already and I’d be on my own but that wasn’t the case.

 

Once fresher’s week was over, it was time to start proper lectures. For those of you that don’t know, I’m studying Children, young people and families at York St John university.

The first lecture I had, the lecturer told me that he had no idea that I was going to be in his lectures and that he didn’t know he had a blind student. This wasn’t true at all, my head of programme had reassured me that all the lecturers did know that I was going to be there and what they had to do. So as a consequence of him apparently not knowing, I hadn’t been sent any materials for the lecture so my note taker had to read everything out to me. This made me feel like I was back in school, not at university at all. What a great start! Luckily this all got sorted and this didn’t happen again. This was an issue that has not repeated itself and I hope it doesn’t in the future.

 

My university experience has overall been a positive one so far. I’m starting my final year in September and I hope things stay that way. In terms of academic stuff, the support is great, I’m given things in an accessible format and usually in advance. If I do encounter any problems then they are usually sorted rather quickly. There are sometimes minor issues like a lecturer thinks my screen-reader is magic and will read images when in fact it won’t and it’s their job to describe them. There have also been quite a few times where lecturers have forgotten to send me materials in advance which can cause problems but I guess it’s a matter of remembering and getting into a routine.

One of the things that I didn’t really consider when I started university was how hard it would be for me to access books. I knew there were ways around this such as electronic formats but I didn’t anticipate the challenges that would come with these. For a while, I had huge problems in accessing electronic formats of books. The system that my university have is I request a book, they scan it, put it into a pdf and then send it to me. When they first started doing this, my screen-reader refused to read the PDF’s and no one could figure out why this was happening. I eventually got it sorted and I could access the PDF’s. However, one problem of this is that it is very time consuming and when you have three 5000 word essays it is very hard to read books for all of them and write the assignments, especially with a screen-reader. I’m still very much in the learning process of this and trying to work out what method works best for me. But we don’t learn if we don’t try!

 

The support that I receive is note taking support and library support. The note taking support is great. It is very helpful in lectures because my note taker writes down the important bits from the powerpoint that the lecture uses. However, there was one instance where the note taker I had wrote my notes on paper rather than on a laptop so had to type them out after the lecture..don’t ask me why, I have no idea either. The only thing I don’t like about note taking support is that sometimes I don’t feel as independent as everyone else because I’ve got a note taker but everything has its pros and cons I guess.

 

The social side of uni is so important. As you will have read in my Mainstream education post I didn’t have the best experiences of friendship groups and especially in sixth form I felt very isolated which had a huge impact on my confidence and me as a person. I’m very glad to say that university has been the complete opposite of this. I’ve got an amazing group of friends that understand my disability but more so, look beyond it. I don’t feel isolated because of it, there’s people from all walks of life at university. It’s surprising how many people there have some sort of disability. For example, I’ve heard there’s more visually impaired people at my university but I don’t actually know them. When people get to university, they start to act more grown up and don’t think “it’s not cool to hang around with a blind girl”. I think they start to look towards the future and learn to accept people no matter what. Being at university has definitely helped me become more comfortable with my disability. A few years ago I refused to pick up a cane but now I will happily do so. I’ll leave the cane story for another post! I believe that university has really taught me that having a disability is really okay and there are people out that will accept it, as long as you love yourself.

 

As you can gather, my university experience has been for the most part, positive. There’s been slight issues but nothing near as bad as when I was in mainstream education. I’m probably the happiest that I’ve ever been and that’s all down to the people that I have in my life. Having people around that love you for who you are is so so important and I’ve definitely realised that over the last couple of years. No matter if you’re in work or education, personally I think there will always be some issues because being disabled isn’t the norm and often people don’t know what to do. But if you help to resolve the issues that you face, then both you and others will learn from this and help other disabled people in the future.

 

I hope you enjoyed this post, if you have any questions please comment below or contact me.

 

Hol x

My Mainstream School Experience

Hello,

Today’s post is a long one so grab a cuppa, get comfy and enjoy!

 

“How did you cope in mainstream education?” is something I get asked all the time. I attended mainstream school all the way through education and continued on to university. This blog post is to no way brag about what grades I got, or anything like that, I simply wrote it to highlight the challenges and difficulties that I faced in the hope that it might help others in a similar situation as me. I also want to discuss some of the positive aspects of my mainstream education experience because by no means was it all bad.

When I look back and reflect on my experience in a mainstream environment I feel a mixture of emotions – a sense of anger, frustration, isolation, proud and most of all a sense of achievement.

The overall experience gave me a rather big insight to people’s perceptions on disability (in my case visual impairment), their lack of knowledge and understanding on how to teach a blind/visually impaired person in a mainstream school, making friends and growing up. I know that every disabled person that goes through the mainstream education system faces different challenges and in no way are our experiences exactly the same but many students will have similar experiences throughout their time in education. Whether you’re in mainstream education or specialist school it’s hard to balance the academic work alongside the normalities of growing up, even more so as a disabled person. Let me tell you why. You’re still discovering who you are, what your future goals and ambitions actually are, where you want to go in life, finding out who your friends are, how to adapt work so that it makes it easier for yourself and most of all, you’re more than likely still getting to grips with your disability. Do we ever really accept our disability, yes we learn to live with it and feel comfortable in our own skin, but that’s different to loving having a disability.

 

My time at primary school was enjoyable, there were a few hiccups but nothing major. I never felt isolated and I guess I didn’t really think about my disability, what young child does really? I felt like every other child in my primary school. However, my time at secondary school didn’t go as smoothly and it certainly wasn’t the same.

One of the main difficulties that I faced in mainstream education was the lack of knowledge that teachers had when teaching a person with a visual impairment. From my experience most teachers did not always understand that I needed materials adapting and putting into braille, I could not write in books – my work was either done on a brailler or on a laptop, I could not see images so they needed to be described to me clearly and I could not watch videos that did not have any spoken commentary. Teachers did not seem to understand that materials needed to be given to my teaching assistants in advance so that they would have plenty of time to prepare them for me and put them in a format that I could actually work from and most importantly, read. I wish teachers realised as a matter of fact it does not just take my teaching assistant 5 minutes to put a textbook or revision guide into braille/audio for me, it in fact takes hours. It sometimes takes that long that they have to be requested from the publishers or specialist companies. Work needed to be given to my TA’s in advance so it meant that teachers had to plan ahead. For example, giving a double lessons worth of work on the day the lesson is taking place does not help me as a student, my teaching assistant or the teacher. The amount of times this happened is crazy! I am not having a go at or criticising teachers, I am just highlighting issues that I encountered.

All of the above issues took place throughout my time in education so it was definitely a challenge for me. Despite all of this, I got a good set of GCSE’s, most of which ranging from A-C.

Many disabled people face bullying in mainstream education which really does make me angry. I was no exception to this. It could have been so much worse than it was but I think these issues really do need highlighting. When this happened I probably didn’t stand up for myself as much as I should have, and I think that was more a confidence issue but I did not let it bother me. I was worth than those that didn’t understand my disability and I stand by that, even today.

 

As I continued on to sixth form at the same school there were still the teacher issues, especially not getting resources to my teaching assistants on time. There were a couple of teachers that went above and beyond to ensure that I was included in every activity, had work prepared in time for me and that I felt comfortable when taking part in group work. I fully believe that they helped me get the A-levels that I did achieve. Although I put the work in, they helped me build my confidence dramatically and actually believed in me as a person.

One other thing that I personally believe that are taken for granted are teaching assistants. I was god damn lucky with the teaching assistants that I did have, they believed in me and one of them was more like my friend. She would fight for my work to be given on time so that she could make it accessible for me but one thing she did without realising was that she always lifted me back up whenever I was down due to my visual impairment. Even today, she still supports me in everything that I do. I know that not everyone has the same relationship with their TA’s as I did and I feel so lucky to have had their continued support. Just a note: never take your teaching assistants for granted!

 

One of the main challenges that I faced was isolation from peers. There were the usual fallouts but I especially felt isolated when I was in sixth form. Everyone was learning to drive, going out partying and I obviously wasn’t included in any of this. I remember finishing year 11 and feeling so excited to start sixth form and truthfully, it was definitely not what I expected. The A-levels that I took were sociology, English language and music. At the end of year 12 (the first year of sixth form) I ended up dropping music because I felt that it wasn’t fully accessible for me and it was not what I thought. I tried other subjects such as RE but had no luck with that either. I ended up doing an extended project which is a bit like a university dissertation, I was able to write about a topic of my choice which did help me prepare for the university style of writing. I ended up leaving sixth form with 2 full A-levels in sociology and English language and 2 AS levels. But I didn’t let that phase me because I still got into my first choice university!

As I previously said, I felt rather isolated throughout sixth form. I had a couple of friends but that was it. I felt like the rest of my year thought “we’re too cool to be friends with the blind girl”. This probably did affect my confidence more than I realised at the time and that has become more apparent to me now. I remember counting down the days until I left that school and dreaded getting up each morning for sixth form. I have honestly never been so down and low before. But I got back up, moved on when I went to university. I believe that sixth form was just the bridge that I had to cross before my life got better when I started university. At one point I thought that I was going to fail my final exams and I even started thinking that if that was going to happen I couldn’t stay in that school any longer, I’d fully prepared myself to try and get a place at a specialist school for the visually impaired.

 

There’s so much assistive technology out now that enables blind and visually impaired people to become much more independent. When I was in school I didn’t have the most amazing technology as I’ve seen others have but the technology that I did have enabled me to be independent and complete work on my own. As I have previously mentioned I completed work on a laptop or a brailler. I didn’t use an iPad, braille display or braille notetaker in school, not like many blind and visually impaired people do now. I relied on Jaws screen-reader and masses of braille paper in folders. I think this had it’s advantages and disadvantages as using braille gave me the opportunity to extend my knowledge, I learnt braille in three languages: English, French and german and also learnt braille music as well. However, it did mean that when it came to revision the amount of folders I had was rather overwhelming. I could have benefited from something like a braille display as I have one now and find it very useful.

 

However, it wasn’t all doom and gloom, my mainstream school experience did have it’s positive aspects as well, there were many of those in fact. One of which I have previously mentioned, my teaching assistants who definitely helped me get through mainstream school. Another advantage of mainstream schools that I think is very important is mixing with non-disabled people. Not everyone is going to like you, you’re not going to like everyone either, people won’t accept your disability and others will so hold on to those people that do because they’re special. It fully prepares you for the outside world and being a minority in a majority of nondisabled people really does give you a backbone. It makes you stand up for yourself and speak up when things aren’t going right or something needs changing/adapting.

One other positive aspect of mainstream education is that you get to take part in the majority of activities just like everyone else. I took part experiments, school trips and all sorts of other stuff. Mainstream education made me independent in many ways., I wanted to work on my own in many lessons and nearly every lesson in sixth form I didn’t have my TA sat by my side. This may shock some people but I felt that I wanted to be independent and work on my own because no one was going to sit with me in university and in the workplace. My TA’s were absolutely fine with this as it allowed me to mix with my classmates but it also allowed me to work independently just like everyone else. Many of the teachers were fine with this arrangement, however there were a few that did panic and often wondered if I could cope on my own. For me, independence wasn’t just about learning to use a cane, yes that’s important but it was also about learning to stand on my own two feet, not relying on anyone being by my side. These for me, were the positive aspects of mainstream education and although I didn’t always love school (who does?) I will always value my time there because it definitely contributed to making me the person I am today. I’m not as bothered anymore if someone says something harsh about my disability or asks me questions, I believe that mainstream education allowed me to grow up just like every other sighted person and that’s what I’m most thankful for.

I haven’t pointed out significant events or experiences in this post because it’s rather personal, confidentiality and all that I guess but there are many good and bad ones that I have experienced.

 

So a note to any disabled person in mainstream education: you’re going to have to fight more than your peers in order to get what you want. But speak out and if something isn’t working for you then shout about it and make your voice heard. If you put the work in, there’s no reason why you can’t achieve excellent grades just like everyone else. You can go on to further/higher education, employment or whatever you want to do, mainstream education won’t stop you from doing that. You’ll have rocky patches, more than likely a lot of them but if you pull through them you’ll look back on them later in life and be proud of yourself.

Being a blind or visually impaired person in mainstream education is not uncommon so don’t think you shouldn’t be there. If you have the right support and equipment then you can go a long way!

 

I haven’t wrote this post to tell you my life story, I’ve wrote it because I know the challenges disabled people face in mainstream education so I wanted people to know that they’re not on their own, that there are people out there that have experienced the same or similar challenges and got through them.

If you would like to know any other significant aspects on my mainstream school experience or have any questions then please do ask.

 

See, I told you it was a long one! If you’ve read till the end then congratulations and thank you! I hope you enjoyed this post and it gave you an insight into my education as a disabled pupil.

 

Holly x

The Importance Of Having Blind And Visually Impaired Friends

Over the last couple of years, my circle of blind and visually impaired friends has grown significantly. I grew up not knowing that many blind and visually impaired people, probably because I was in mainstream education and the services for blind and visually impaired young people in my area were very limited. During my time at sixth form I felt rather isolated from all of my “sighted” peers, this time was definitely the lowest point that I have experienced so far. I felt very socially isolated because everyone was learning to drive, go out clubbing and I wasn’t part of any of that. Whether it was because it wasn’t “cool” to hang around with the blind girl we’ll never know but I believe that experience and feeling of isolation made me so much stronger and more prepared of what to face in the outside world. When I felt low and isolated, I could have done with blind and visually impaired friends in my life, even if it was just for reassurance that I wasn’t going through that myself and that in fact those feelings are completely normal. Now that I have blind and visually impaired friends, I am a lot happier, more comfortable with myself and my disability and I feel so much more confident. I’ve come to realise that having blind and VI people in my life really does make a difference. Having people in your life with the same disability as you is something that I believe is so important.

 

There are two ways in which how I met my blind and visually impaired friends. In 2014, I spent a week at a specialist school for blind and visually impaired people and this is where my friendship started with a few of my VI friends. Whilst I was there I enhanced my independent living skills and my mobility skills. I loved every minute of it and would definitely do it again!

For me, making friends there was one of the main highs of that experience. I never expected to stay in touch with any of them, let alone be so close but two years on and our friendship is still as strong as ever. They definitely made my time there even more enjoyable and have helped me grow as a person a lot over the last two years.

 

The other way that I have made blind and visually impaired friends is through blogging, through the power of the internet. I never expected that I would make friends through writing blog posts and commenting on others posts. My Blurred World Thinking Out Loud-Sassy Style and Yesterdays Wishes are three of my best friends and I couldn’t imagine my life without these girls.

 

There are so many reasons for why having blind and visually impaired friends is so important for me and I’m going to discuss those with you. Firstly, they know the everyday struggles, embarrassments and achievements that you face. Whether that’s completely embarrassing yourself at university, making a silly mistake in a shop or becoming more confident with a cane etc., they know and understand it all. You name it, they’ve probably been there. They’ll either laugh at your misfortune or be like “you know what, I’ve been there too, we’ve all done that and warn the t-shirt”

 

They can pass on useful tips and tricks. If I’m struggling with something to do with my disability, I always go to my girls because they more than likely know the answer.

 

They help you grow in confidence. The majority of my VI friends have had confidence and self-esteem issues just like I have and for most of us that’s often been due to our disability or people’s lack of understanding. We know how each other is struggling or what they’ve been through and we’re so proud of each other when they get passed that point even when they thought they couldn’t.

 

They’re always there to have a rant with! Whether that’s on skype/the phone, in person or via text…they get everything you’re saying and that sure does make you feel so much better!

 

They understand how important technology is. If you live in the same town or city as your VI friends then you’re lucky! But if you’re like me and don’t, technology is your only means of contact with your VI friends and this is vital.

 

They never take anything disability related to heart or too personally. Chances are, they’ve been in the exact same situation with their sighted friends as well.

 

They understand the smallest of things that annoy you and the larger things. Whether that’s just something silly like your sighted friends putting pictures on a group chat and you can’t see them or something major such as you not feeling comfortable doing something. Those things probably annoy them too!

 

They’re 100 % always, and I mean always there whenever you’re having a bad day or feeling low because of your disability. When you just want to curl up in a ball and cry but they always put you back on track and give you a firm talking to! And when it’s the other way around, they need that, you’ll always do that for them because that’s what friends do. They understand like nobody else.

 

Now you know the reasons for why I think having blind and visually impaired friends is so important, you’re probably thinking to yourself that you haven’t been to a specialist school or you aren’t a blogger, well don’t worry. There are various ways in which you can meet and connect with other blind and visually impaired people.

I’m going to tell you about an exciting project that is being launched and which I feel very honoured to be a part of!

LOOK-UK is a registered charity that supports blind and visually impaired people and their families. I am a volunteer for look and I feel so honoured to be part of such a wonderful organisation.

This summer LOOK is launching Skype chat groups aimed at young people with a vision impairment. These skype groups will be run by a facilitator and will give the young people the opportunity to discuss many aspects of sight loss such as technology, mobility, education, employment and so much more. The mentoring project provides help and support for children and young people living with a visual impairment. The facilitators have been in the same position as the young people so will not judge or dictate what the members of the group are saying. The facilitator can also pass on their tips or comments on any topics that are being discussed, supporting the young people even further. The mentor will be older than the members of the group but will still be young enough for the young people to relate to and possibly look up to.

Personally, I think this is a great opportunity for blind and visually impaired young people to connect with others just like themselves. Not only will it be fun, it will also be safe and secure. I will be a facilitator myself and I am so excited and feel so humbled that I can hopefully help other blind and visually impaired young people through this mentoring project.

If you think this is something you would be interested in then here is the advert:

Are you aged between 11 and 29?

Do you want to join one of our LOOK Skype groups and meet other visually impaired people your age?

Or, if you’re over 18, why not become one of our Skype group leaders. Now’s your chance. You’ll get lots of training and guidance all which will look great on your CV. And it will be fun.

You could join one of the following groups:

11 years old to 14. 14 years old to 16 16 years old to 18 and 18 years and over or further and higher education students

This is part of our new mentoring project which will be launched later this summer.

Please get in touch if you are interested. Please contact: information@look-uk.org

 

Or if you would like any more information before you contact LOOK then please feel free to contact me. I really do hope this is something my blind and visually impaired readers get involved in, I would have loved this when I was younger! The opportunity of being a facilitator gives young people the opportunity to enhance their teamwork and communication skills.

 

I would also like to tell you that LOOK will be launching a mentoring project later this summer which will give the chance for a mentor and mentee to connect and for young people to have more help and support from someone that’s been there and knows what it is like to be a blind or visually impaired person in a sighted world. This mentoring project will be one-to-one communication whereas the Skype mentoring is in groups. They will also be holding events throughout the year for different mentoring opportunities. Watch this space for more information on this!

Check LOOK’s Facebook page for more updates. They will also be launching a new website very soon! You can find their website here One of the main aims of LOOK is to improve young people’s confidence and skills through mentoring. Personally, I think a mentoring project like this would have definitely helped boost my confidence, self-esteem and given me the opportunity to enhance my skills when I was younger.

 

As you know, my blog is all about helping other blind and partially sighted people and I feel that this could really be beneficial to young people. I have discussed with you the importance of having visually impaired friends and I think that LOOK’s mentoring projects could really make a difference to young people’s lives.

Please share with anyone you think might be interested and spread the word about this fantastic charity and the work they’re doing!

 

Holly x

Revision Tips For Blind And Visually Impaired Students

Hello everyone,

I hope you’re all well.

I know this post won’t be of use to a lot of you but if you know anyone that’s taking exams and may find these revision tips helpful then please do share it with them.

If you’re anything like me, you’ll hate exams and completely panic and be an absolute stress head when it comes to exam season! Yes, I was probably the biggest ball of stress when it came down to taking my GCSE’s and A-levels…let’s not go there!

I thought I’d put together a few revision tips for blind and visually impaired students. It can make things so much harder when you’re constantly sat using a computer or surrounded by a mountain of braille!

 

Create a revision timetable

This can be electronic or on paper. Divide your day up into subjects, topics and make sure you list different revision techniques that you will use. This means that you won’t be sat using the same technique all day and the information will actually go in.

 

Make a revision plan

Your teachers probably tell you that you have to be organised and plan your revision. Well it’s true. Trust me, from someone that’s been there there’s nothing worse than sitting down to revise and not having a clue where to start.

It doesn’t have to be anything fancy, just create a new document on your computer or in braille, list the topics and divide them into sub-topics. Once you’ve done that, go through them and put a symbol next to the ones you struggle with. That way you’ll know what topics you need to go over more thoroughly. As you revise keep checking back at your plan.

 

Use different revision techniques

Instead of sitting reading through documents all day use different revision techniques to enhance your learning. Some techniques are discussed below.

 

Complete past papers

I’d say this is one of the most important revision strategies. Completing past papers gives you some indication of what to expect in the exam, what sort of questions will be asked/what topics are likely to be discussed and it gives you ideas on the wording of the questions. Completing past papers gives you the chance to have a practice run through. Why not time yourself in pretend exam conditions? Ask your teachers if they have time to look through them and marked them so you know what you’re aiming for and what you did right/where you went wrong so that you know for the actual exam.

 

Make simple revision notes

Condense your large documents down into notes highlighting the key points. This can especially be useful for blind and visually impaired people because it reduces the amount of information you have to read with a magnifier, screen-reader or in braille.

 

Use textbooks and revision guides

You can get a whole range of revision guides in accessible formats from libraries, the publishers or websites such as Load2Learn. Ask someone at school or your QTVI about these.

 

Make revision cards

This can be a bit harder for blind and visually impaired people but it can be done. Why not print off or braille the key words for a topic and have the definitions separate? This is a bit time consuming but if you have the time then it can be really useful.

 

Use revision websites

BBC Bitesize is a great website that is mostly accessible for blind and visually impaired people. They condense topics into small chunks and have quizzes for you to answer, it makes revision that bit more interesting.

 

Watch Youtube videos/listen to podcasts

These aren’t always the most reliable sources of information but if you’re tired of reading/writing then these can be great just to watch or listen to. You can usually find them if you search on the internet.

 

Convert documents into audio

You can record yourself saying everything you know about a topic, see how much you remember and then check back through your revision notes.

Websites such as RoboBraille are also especially useful. RoboBraille let’s you convert documents into audio for easy listening. I found this especially useful for converting my revision notes and revision guides. Remember they are a charity so you can donate if you like!

 

Other tips

Find the best study style that suits you – whether that’s on your own or with others.

 

Work somewhere quiet and free from distractions. I know this is really hard when you’re blind or visually impaired when working on a computer or tablet because it’s very tempting to go on social media! But this really does not help you concentrate and it will not help you pass your exams.

 

Take regular breaks and relax

You don’t want to be revising for 7 hours straight because nothing will go in. Take regular breaks, refuel your brain by eating and drinking and relaxing for a bit. Then you’ll be more likely to get more revision done if you’re not tired.

 

Recap on the main bits

Once you’ve revised a topic go over the main sections, this will stop you from stressing too much.

 

On the day of the exam:

Make sure you have had something to eat before you take the exam. Chances are if you’re blind or visually impaired you’ll have extra time so will be in the exam room for a while so make sure you’re not tired before you even start the exam!

 

Manage your time for each question

Know how long you need to spend on each question so it gives you chance to proofread your answers at the end of the exam.

 

I hope you found this post helpful and hope some of you found these revision tips of use. If you have some other tips that are not listed please feel free to comment below to help others!

Remember: Your intelligence is not always defined by your exam results. If you put the work in then I’m sure it will pay off!

All that’s left for me to say is good luck to those of you taking exams!

Join me next time.

Hol x

I need your help | Q&A

Hi everyone,

I’d just like to thank you all for the support on my last post – it’s been incredible! Thank you for all the tweets, comments and likes/shares on Facebook!

I thought I’d get my readers involved with something so I’ve decided to do a Q & A (if it all goes to plan).

So I need your help! I would like you to send me questions that you’d like me to answer in a Q&A blog post. It can be anything to do with disability, visual impairment, me as a person, lifestyle, beauty, technology…if a question springs to mind then please fire away! Feel free to send me more than one question if you like.

There are several ways that you can send me your questions:

Commenting below

Via email lifeofablindgirl@gmail.com

Send me a message or comment on this post on Facebook

Or you can tweet me: hollynataliet

 

I hope to do this post at the end of next week so please get them in by the start of the week if you can.

For future reference, if you have any questions after I’ve done the Q&A please do send me them, I could use them for inspiration for a blog post or for a future Q&A so ask away whenever a question springs to mind!

I look forward to answering your questions!

 

Hol x

The VIP Daily Living Tag

Hello everyone,

Today’s post is a collaboration with my good friend My Blurred World. She’s honestly kept me going throughout my time as a blogger and we’ve become really close, she’s so amazing and inspirational and I feel so lucky to have her as one of my friends. She’s an incredible writer so make sure you check out her blog! We’ve wanted to do a collaboration together for a while now but neither of us have had the time so I’m super excited that we’ve finally got round to doing one!

This post is a tag, so you can all join in if you like! This post is about daily living for blind and visually impaired people. We decided to split the questions into 5 different categories; beauty/fashion, mobility, education, assistive technology and friendships. The main aim of this post is to inform people on the daily struggles we go through as blind or visually impaired people and how we adapt everyday tasks to suit our needs. I hope you find this post informative and have fun reading it as much as we did putting it together and writing it!

 

Beauty/fashion

1. When preparing an outfit, do you have your clothes set out in a specific way so that it makes it easier for you to choose an outfit yourself?

Kind of, I have my daily casual clothes separated from my smart clothes that I wear for going out. I also have jumpers together, leggings together and so on.

 

2. When you want to buy new clothes, do you:

a. Do online shopping on your own.

b. Go shopping with someone.

I usually go shopping with someone. That way they can describe the clothes to me and then I can decide whether I like them or not.

 

3. When you go shopping with friends/family is there anything that you ask them to do for you to help choose clothes/makeup you might like?

I ask them to describe things to me. If I’m buying makeup I will ask them to help me match my skin colour making sure that I get the right colour for my skin. The people close to me know my style so shopping is usually relatively easy.

 

4. Do you find it difficult to pick out an outfit due to your visual impairment?

Sometimes, yes. I can’t see clothes clearly because I only have light perception so rely on apps such as Tap Tap See or for sighted assistance to tell me the colours. I can also do it by touch, I know what my clothes feel like so this enables me to pick an outfit out myself.

 

5. Do you find online shopping accessible?

It depends on the website and whether they have descriptions of items. I can’t see the pictures so have to rely on descriptions and sometimes these are non-existent or unclear.

 

6. Does your visual impairment stop you from applying makeup? If so, why?

No because I’ve learnt how to apply makeup myself. It took a lot, and I mean a lot of practice!

 

7. How do you organise your clothing/beauty products?

I have all my clothes in my wardrobe and tops I don’t wear as often in drawers. For example, shorts and tops for summer.

In regards to beauty products, I have the products that I use every day in a makeup bag and others I don’t use as often I keep them separately.

 

Mobility:

8. Do you have any kind of mobility aid? If so, what is it?

I use a long cane.

 

9. Do you prefer using this or to be sighted guided?

I don’t mind either way. It depends on the situation that I am in.

 

10. If you use a cane, do you feel self-conscious whilst using it?

I used to feel very self-conscious whilst using my cane due to bad experiences and judgements from others which knocked my confidence but I have got over that and I feel much more confident in using it now.

 

11. When it comes to transport, do you go on the bus, train etc. by yourself?

Yes I do. I have also been on a plane by myself which was such a scary but exciting experience!

 

12. How do you feel about travelling independently?

Don’t get me wrong, it is quite scary but it is such a great milestone to achieve. I used to be really anxious about travelling on my own but have got over this fear now.

 

Education:

13. Do/did you attend a mainstream or specialist school?

I attended mainstream school all the way throughout my education.

 

14. If you had a choice, which one would you prefer to go to?

I’d probably say mainstream due to the fact that you meet people that will understand your disability and others that won’t so you learn to accept that. You also learn how to have a backbone when people are damn right rude or don’t understand the simplest of things. I’d definitely say that attending mainstream school has helped shape the person I am today.

The plus side of going to a specialist school is that they are fully equipped for blind or visually impaired students and you have dedicated lessons for mobility and independent living skills.

 

15. Overall, was your experience of education as a visually impaired person mostly positive or negative? How could it have been improved?

I’d say mostly positive but like everything, it did have negative aspects. My teaching assistants 100 % made the experience so much better and I’m not even ashamed to admit that. My friendship group made the hard times so worthwhile as they supported me throughout. I sometimes felt rather isolated because some of my peers saw me as “the blind girl” and didn’t get to know me for who I am. Also some of the teachers didn’t understand that I needed work adapting and this often caused problems.

I also didn’t have access to some equipment that I could have really benefited from due to funding so this is another improvement.

 

16. Did you carry on into further/higher education? If so, how did you feel about this transition? If not, why?

Yes I carried on into the sixth form at my school and I am now at university.

I remember being really excited to start sixth form but I’ll be completely honest, it definitely wasn’t what I expected. I loved the subjects that I chose but my main issue was with people in my year just being focused on learning to drive and going out at weekends and I felt very isolated because of this.

Due to this I was very anxious but excited about starting university. It’s crazy how different people are at university, I am so much more accepted than I ever was at school and it has most certainly made me much more happier. At university, people look beyond my disability. It did have its rocky patches but I am so glad that I continued on into higher education.

 

Assistive technology:

17. What is your opinion on assistive technology for blind and visually impaired people, do you think it is vital?

I absolutely love assistive technology! I couldn’t live without it, it opens up the world for us blind and visually impaired people. I’ve used it since a young age and I feel so lucky that I can use it and be just like a sighted person.

 

18. Do you use assistive technology?

Yes all the time! I use it on a daily basis. Quite frankly, I couldn’t do my university work and some everyday tasks without it.

 

19. What assistive technology/specialist apps could you not live without?

My screen-reader on my laptop and VoiceOver on the Apple products that I have. In regards to apps, I use Tap Tap See, KNFB reader and the money reader all the time so probably couldn’t live without those. I have previously written a post on aps that I use so if you’re interested check it out Here.

 

20. If you could recommend one piece of technology for a blind or visually impaired person what would it be and why?

I’d definitely recommend a screen-reader on a computer or VoiceOver on Apple products depending on which you prefer. I think this opens up the world for blind and visually impaired people because it allows them to browse the web, send emails, write documents and so much more.

 

21. What’s one piece of assistive technology that you’d really like?

Probably a braille note taker. I’ve recently got a braille display and I love that.

 

Friendships:

22. Do you mainly have sighted friends or blind/visually impaired friends?

I have both. I probably have a few more sighted friends but I do have a good set of blind and visually impaired friends as well.

 

23. If you have blind/visually impaired friends, how did you meet them?

I met them through blogging. As mentioned at the start of this post, My Blurred World who I have collaborated with to write this post I met through the internet and I couldn’t imagine my life without her. I also met one of my best friends through the internet and she happens to be blind as well, we met on twitter. I have also become really good friends with the people that I have mentioned later on in this post. We have become really good friends and I am so glad we met. I also spent a week at a specialist school so made some blind and visually impaired friends whilst I was there that I still keep in contact with now.

 

24. Do sighted peers understand your disability and try to help you?

Since I started university I’d definitely say that my sighted peers are more understanding of my disability and do try to help me.

 

25. What’s one thing you wish your friends understood about your disability?

They’re absolutely amazing in terms of understanding my disability and what I can/can’t do, what I feel comfortable/don’t feel comfortable doing and all that so this was quite hard for me. However, it sounds really silly but I wish they realised that my screen-reader doesn’t read pictures so I can’t join in on things on group chats on Facebook. That probably sounds stupid but yeah, some people that have experience this will get what I mean.

 

26. Who do you tag to do this post?

I tag Yesterdays Wishes Thinking Out Loud-SassyStyle Molly Burke See My Way and fashioneyesta have fun doing this girls! If you’re blind or visually impaired or maybe you have another disability feel free to do this tag and adapt it to suit you!

Hope you enjoyed this post 🙂

Make sure you check out the people’s blogs that I have tagged to do this post and like said at the beginning, make sure you check out My Blurred World

Feel free to give me feedback on this post/any suggestions for future posts – I’d love to hear your thoughts and ideas! You can comment below your feedback and suggestions or click on my Contact Holly page to find out other ways of contacting me 🙂

I look forward to hearing from you and hope you enjoyed this post!

Holly x

Studying at university as a blind student