"From Where I Sit" Video Series

Lana's Story — Video Transcript

I was diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa when I was 18. At the time the disorder had not begun to express itself. The deterioration of my vision no longer allowed me to keep up at work or even in life. I was pretending to be sighted and it was causing me great difficulties. I was afraid to go anywhere, walk anywhere, so afraid of everything. I was so afraid of my own shadow. I had lost my sense of humor and I stopped work. And I didn't know at that point I didn't know what I was gonna do but I knew I couldn't continue doing what I was doing.

It took my husband to push me to see a new ophthalmologist. And I told her how I was feeling like I was walking on the fence between being blind and sited. She looked me in the eye, took me - took me took both my hands in hers and she said you have Retinitis Pigmentosa and its time for you to get some help.

My orientation mobility instructor was teaching me how to travel independently, and strategies for getting about with little or no vision. We were walking around my neighborhood. We got to a bus stop and he started to read off the destinations. And during this time I was thinking I can't even cross the street yet, let alone get on a bus. I have nowhere to go. And then he said the 250 goes to the college and I stopped dead in my tracks and I said, "That is what I am going to do. I am going back to school."

It was the first time I had walked out of my house alone and got to the campus by myself and I sat in a courtyard and I cried because it was such a powerful moment for me to be able to have learned the skills and just to start my life all over again.

I learned JAWS, the screen reading program that I use. I learned to communicate with my professors to advocate for my own self, talking about what I need when they use the three bad words, which are: “this, there and that”. For example, if they're talking about a bell curve "it goes up like this in the middle and then it goes down like that". That doesn't help me.

PowerPoint is used quite a bit by many of the professors, so it presents a problem in itself in the classroom. However, if I can get those in advance, it's no longer a problem.

Even though I can't see very much in the classroom, it's really important for me to have a focal point. So there is a strategy for me to sit in a seat that's close by the instructor.

Another situation in which things can be difficult are handouts the instructor is using that day and its new material. My textbooks need to be advanced ordered in electronic text that I can use a screen reading program on. But the process is very time consuming. Ordering books in electronic text or alternate format takes 4-6 weeks. Publishers are not always willing or able to provide the electronic text for me. And if they are not able to the disability services on campus needs to take it apart from the spine and scan individual pages. And scanning is not 100% accurate so there is quite a bit of editing that needs to be done.

Blackboard has so many different elements that are treated differently, and a student who is blind needs to learn how each of these elements are accessed by JAWS. And this takes time. So that takes away from actual study time because you are doing the logistics of learning how to access all of this material.

I have a keyboard that I type my notes on. It's called a note taker. But I need help with the visuals and I have a student who is taking the class take those types of notes for me.

What would make a big difference for students with visual disabilities in the classrooms... if the professor can get handouts to us ahead of time, have notes available online that we could refer back to especially in PowerPoint. Books are very important to be ordered early... at least two months in advance. The process of getting the books ordered, having publishers respond, or having to be scanned and edited is a long process and that takes approximately two to six weeks. So time really counts in getting that done. Communication with the professor... just having professors be very open to teaching or presenting material in slightly different ways and being open to communicating with the student is also very important for the learning process. And staying away from the three bad words, this, there, that... more descriptions in the speech would help everybody. It is all part of universal design. It would help students of all types be able to process material and learn better in the classroom.

I'm in college because, prior to that experience at the bus stop, I did not know what I was going to do. I didn't think I had a future. I though I was going to be best friends with Riki and Oprah. You know what, school is an option for me, education is an option for me. I have a good brain. I'm intelligent. I'm energetic and I wanted to do something. I want to help people reach their potential and do something with their future.