[Iabs-talk] part of the solution

[Christella Garcia]

Hey here is the Email I sent to the Oprah show. It was kind  of difficult because I could only use 2000 characters.  That can be problematic because I have a lot to say regarding this topic.

I am writing in regard to the show that Ben Underwood was on.  I would like to state for the record that I was born blind.  I have light perception which means that I do not see colors and I can't read print.  However, my blindness has never stopped me from accomplishing any task I have set out to do.  When I was young I struggled with my blindness.  I hated using a cane, but fortunately I got over myself and accepted my blindness.  I thought using a cane made me look weird, but when I gained incite I realized that if I ever wanted to be independent I would have to learn to travel on my own.  I Lived in New Mexico until age23.  Then I moved to California.  In the past I received cane travel training, but now that I lived in a larger city it was necessary for me to sharpen my travel skills.  I was fortunate to have a fabulous instructor with positive philosophy about blindness.  I use a guide dog, but I can honestly say I feel most confident when I have my cane in hand.  This is why Bens travel techniques do not seem very efficient to me as well as most blind people.  Echo location can work in rare instances, but I fear for him traveling in a loud city where his technique may not work.  Also it is not Normal for a person to walk down a street clicking.  I do not want the sited world to think that people who use canes are not independent because that is certainly not the case.  I am involved in sports.  I play goalball which is a sport that was developed for blind people.  I have participated in wrestling, Karate, Judo, Track and cheerleading.  I choose to travel in a safe manor.  I apologize for being critical concerning Bens echo location, but I think it is unsafe.  I am part of an Organization called the National Federation of the blind.  It is the largest organization of blind people advocating for blind people.  We believe "it is respectable to be blind." 

 
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Hey here is the Email I sent to the Oprah show. It was kind  of difficult because I could only use 2000 characters.  That can be problematic because I have a lot to say regarding this topic.
 
I am writing in regard to the show that Ben Underwood was on.
 
I would like to state for the record that I was born blind.
 
I have light perception which means that I do not see colors and I can’t read print.
 
However, my blindness has never stopped me from accomplishing any task I have set out to do.
 
When I was young I struggled with my blindness.
 
I hated using a cane, but fortunately I got over myself and accepted my blindness.
 
I thought using a cane made me look weird, but when I gained incite I realized that if I ever wanted to be independent I would have to learn to travel on my own.
 
I Lived in
New Mexico
until age23.
 
Then I moved to
California
.
 
In the past I received cane travel training, but now that I lived in a larger city it was necessary for me to sharpen my travel skills.
 
I was fortunate to have a fabulous instructor with positive philosophy about blindness.
 
I use a guide dog, but I can honestly say I feel most confident when I have my cane in hand.
 
This is why Bens travel techniques do not seem very efficient to me as well as most blind people.
 
Echo location can work in rare instances, but I fear for him traveling in a loud city where his technique may not work.
 
Also it is not Normal for a person to walk down a street clicking.
 
I do not want the sited world to think that people who use canes are not independent because that is certainly not the case.
 
I am involved in sports.
 
I play goalball which is a sport that was developed for blind people.
 
I have participated in wrestling, Karate, Judo, Track and cheerleading.
 
I choose to travel in a safe manor.
 
I apologize for being critical concerning Bens echo location, but I think it is unsafe.
 
I am part of an Organization called the National Federation of the blind.
 
It is the largest organization of blind people advocating for blind people.
 
We believe “it is respectable to be blind.”