My name is Sabrina and I am a person with a visual impairment. Since birth, I was set a with a diagnosis of having vision loss up to ninety percent which leaves me with ten percent vision in total.
During my early years of infancy, my mother noticed Immediately that I displayed challenges with my vision. When laying on my tummy, my mother would call out to me as parents often do to with their young ones. She began to observe a pattern of me trying to focus on the sound of her voice and the movement of my head motioning with curiosity to where she was. When meeting with the Doctor, my parents were informed that I was cross eyed and when I was two years old I was given surgery to uncross them, which left me with a nastagma (an involuntary movement of the eyes causing them to move rapidly back and forth). After the surgery, I was given corrective glasses for both indoor and outdoor and officially was declared legally blind.
After absorbing the informations from doctors that things would be much more difficult for me like walking and functioning alone as an adult, my parents set out to get as educated as they could about my disability and what they could do to better my future.
While in school I was offered an i itinerary teacher whom I developed a strong bond with. Mrs. Young would come in to visit me at school once a week and make sure all of my needs were being met. She would also play games with me which at the time I didn't really get. I knew she was making me do these things for a reason but the exact reason I didn't fully comprehend as I can now as an adult. The games were ways for her to see how I was progressing with my vision and what my limitations were. Mrs. Young would often advocate for me and had a wonderful relationship with my parents. I feel that if it wasn't for Mrs. Young's guidance and encouragement to advocate for myself, I would not have been so comfortable with my low vision. On the first day of school every year she would demand i go to my teacher and say "my name is Sabrina and I have a visual impairment. I will need extra help sometimes. " I know now the teachers already knew, but she didn't tell me because she wanted me to get comfortable with my vision and talking about it.
Even with my disability I was often given opportunities to " be like everyone else " and more often than not I was encouraged to try something before I decided I was uncomfortable. In gym class specs ok balls were given to the class I was which had bells inside of them so I could hear them and follow the sound. It was a chance for me to play with my peers being on their level while adapting to my needs.
As an adult, I am a fully functioning person in society with next to no limitations. I have lived on my own, can cook for myself, commute alone, graduated college, attend university and work as an early childhood educator. My life is no different from my best friend or my sister who both have perfect vision. It would be easy for me to look at my low vision as a death sentence but I consider myself to be honoured with ten percent vision. I know how fortunate I am to have any vision at all and I am always reminded by my parents that I may have been born with a disadvantage but I was not born defeated and when life hands you lemons make the sweetest lemonade.
During my early years of infancy, my mother noticed Immediately that I displayed challenges with my vision. When laying on my tummy, my mother would call out to me as parents often do to with their young ones. She began to observe a pattern of me trying to focus on the sound of her voice and the movement of my head motioning with curiosity to where she was. When meeting with the Doctor, my parents were informed that I was cross eyed and when I was two years old I was given surgery to uncross them, which left me with a nastagma (an involuntary movement of the eyes causing them to move rapidly back and forth). After the surgery, I was given corrective glasses for both indoor and outdoor and officially was declared legally blind.
After absorbing the informations from doctors that things would be much more difficult for me like walking and functioning alone as an adult, my parents set out to get as educated as they could about my disability and what they could do to better my future.
While in school I was offered an i itinerary teacher whom I developed a strong bond with. Mrs. Young would come in to visit me at school once a week and make sure all of my needs were being met. She would also play games with me which at the time I didn't really get. I knew she was making me do these things for a reason but the exact reason I didn't fully comprehend as I can now as an adult. The games were ways for her to see how I was progressing with my vision and what my limitations were. Mrs. Young would often advocate for me and had a wonderful relationship with my parents. I feel that if it wasn't for Mrs. Young's guidance and encouragement to advocate for myself, I would not have been so comfortable with my low vision. On the first day of school every year she would demand i go to my teacher and say "my name is Sabrina and I have a visual impairment. I will need extra help sometimes. " I know now the teachers already knew, but she didn't tell me because she wanted me to get comfortable with my vision and talking about it.
Even with my disability I was often given opportunities to " be like everyone else " and more often than not I was encouraged to try something before I decided I was uncomfortable. In gym class specs ok balls were given to the class I was which had bells inside of them so I could hear them and follow the sound. It was a chance for me to play with my peers being on their level while adapting to my needs.
As an adult, I am a fully functioning person in society with next to no limitations. I have lived on my own, can cook for myself, commute alone, graduated college, attend university and work as an early childhood educator. My life is no different from my best friend or my sister who both have perfect vision. It would be easy for me to look at my low vision as a death sentence but I consider myself to be honoured with ten percent vision. I know how fortunate I am to have any vision at all and I am always reminded by my parents that I may have been born with a disadvantage but I was not born defeated and when life hands you lemons make the sweetest lemonade.