[Mt-blind] A Nnew Way of Seeing - Helena Independent Record, Montana USA

Mon Jul 9 15:59:46 CDT 2007

Dan,
I will write you on this matter,
because there was lots said I didn't care for in the article.
I felt it was better to be still than to be the first one to cause different 
thinking.

--Dar
www.mypowermall.com/biz/home/5779
Every Saint has a past
Every Sinner has a future

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Dan Burke" <burke.dall at gmail.com>
To: "Montana Association for the Blind List" <mt-blind at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Monday, July 09, 2007 2:19 PM
Subject: Re: [Mt-blind] A Nnew Way of Seeing - Helena Independent 
Record,Montana USA

> Thanks for posting Jerry.  Good to see the community embracing the
> summer school.  It's great PR for the SOP, but it is frustratingly
> full of fallacies and cutesy political
> correctness/self-congratulations.
>
> For example, the MAB was not founded by "visually impaired persons."
> It was founded by blind people.  In the MAB, with the word "blind"
> right in our name, we shouldn't be afraid to say that word.  And the
> alternative skills of blindness work for those who still have some
> vision, because they are the most reliable skills.
>
> And we don't  have "visual problems," we recognize that the skills
> taught at SOP are the ones that work, and that is a positive thing,
> not a negative thing.
>
> On the other side of the coin there is this absolutely dynamite
> statement from Vandermissen:  "I feel there is nothing I can't do if I
> really want to..."
> That's the real message, not the focus on loss.  Sure wish there
> hadn't been a medical perspective at all in the story.  Takes away
> from the sense of power gained by the students.  It's easy to get
> caught that way by reporters - journalists are the undisputed masters
> of cultural short hands and downright myths.  Got to watch 'em like
> hawks!
>
> Dan
>
>
> On 7/8/07, Jerry Hutch <modrepro at mt.net> wrote:
>> Helena Independent Record, Montana USA
>> Sunday, July 08, 2007
>>
>> A new way of seeing
>>
>> By ALANA LISTOE - IR Staff Writer
>>
>> Caption: Montana Association for the Blind's Summer Orientation Program
>> student, Ivey Vandermissen of Great Falls, right, learns proper cane
>> technique from orientation and mobility instructor Susan Gunn, left. 
>> Eliza
>> Wiley IR Staff Photographer
>>
>> Less than a year before her 33rd birthday, Ivey Vandermissen suffered a
>> migraine so fierce it landed her in the emergency room.
>>
>> After the incident, the former analyst for a check processing center
>> discovered she couldn't see the end of her nose. It's likely she will be
>> completely blind by her next birthday.
>>
>> Vandermissen, of Great Falls, has the rare eye condition bullous
>> keratopathy/retinoschisis. Born with one lazy eye, it was Vandermissen's
>> other, stronger eye that developed the problem she describes as the 
>> retina
>> splitting and filling with fluid, causing a bubble effect and pulling the
>> retina away from the back of the eye.
>>
>> Besides enduring pain and an unsuccessful surgery in a desperate attempt 
>> to
>> prevent further sight loss, Vandermissen said the whole ordeal was very
>> emotional.
>>
>> "When you go through something like this, there is a significant change,"
>> she said. "I can't even cross the street without someone."
>>
>> By the end of the week, that will change.
>>
>> Vandermissen and 22 other blind or partially sighted men and women are
>> spending a month at the Montana Association for the Blind's summer
>> orientation program at Carroll College - the first time it's been held in
>> Helena during its 60-year history.
>>
>> Assisted by an orientation and mobility instructor, Vandermissen has 
>> learned
>> how to navigate using a cane (while blind-folded to create how she will 
>> soon
>> live).
>>
>> She learned the swing of the cane should land just outside of the user's
>> hips moving from side to side at a smooth, even tempo.
>>
>> She learned also to stay near the grass line along sidewalks, avoiding 
>> the
>> unpredictable nonconcrete ground. She now knows to listen to cues from 
>> her
>> ears and trust her other senses to recognize close and potentially 
>> dangerous
>> objects.
>>
>> Founded by visually impaired persons, the Montana Association for the 
>> Blind
>> is a nonprofit organization that works for the social and economic
>> improvement of blind people in the state.
>>
>> Since 1945 the summer program helps those with visual problems acquire 
>> the
>> skills and attitudes that will enable them to remain independent, and 
>> gives
>> them the confidence to be self-reliant. The month-long program costs 
>> about
>> $3,000 per person, although there is no charge to its participants.
>>
>> Those who attend the program spend their days honing such basic skills 
>> such
>> as cooking, handwriting and sewing, as well as gaining a better sense of
>> mobility and learning to read Braille.
>>
>> Participants work one-on-one with instructors because, just as their 
>> degree
>> of vision loss varies, so too does each person's ability to adapt.
>>
>> "It's real interesting to see them (the participants) come in," said Kay
>> Stevens, director of the summer program. "Sometimes they cry or are 
>> dragging
>> their feet."
>>
>> But, she added, by the month's end confidence radiates from them.
>>
>> Jenet Melton, of Quality Vision Care in Helena, is one of the few
>> optometrists who provide services to those with low vision, which she
>> describes as impaired vision that cannot be fully restored by 
>> conventional
>> glasses, contact lenses, medical treatment or surgery.
>>
>> Melton said there are more than 4 million people in American with low 
>> vision
>> and 68 percent are over 65.
>>
>> She said it takes self-acceptance, determination, support of family and
>> friends and learning new techniques to fully utilize any remaining 
>> vision.
>>
>> Vandermissen said over the course of the program she has gained the
>> confidence to face a new world.
>>
>> "I feel there is nothing I can't do if I really want to," she said.
>>
>> She and husband Ben are looking to have two, maybe three, children 
>> sometime
>> soon, Vandermissen said.
>>
>> Ron Crowe, 62, began losing his eyesight about 10 years ago. Back then,
>> doctors told him he'd be blind within three years.
>>
>> Today he is completely bind in his left eye and said he's having a "hell 
>> of
>> a time with the other."
>>
>> Crowe, a father and grandfather, sank into a deep depression for many 
>> years
>> trying to deal with his vision loss. He said his grandchildren are what 
>> kept
>> him going.
>>
>> For years, the only way he got around town was by the assistance of his
>> grandchildren, who helped him navigate the public transportation system.
>>
>> And although his grandchildren may still tag along to the post office or 
>> the
>> grocery store when he returns home in a week, it won't be a necessity.
>>
>> Crowe said the summer program is marvelous and has helped him accept the
>> fact that he is blind, taught him how to use a cane, and increased his
>> confidence.
>>
>> "The greatest thing has been finding out there are people worse off than
>> me," he said. "There is always a sunset and a sunrise - we can't see it -
>> but we know it will always be there."
>>
>> The summer program was held in Bozeman on the Montana State University
>> campus since its inception in 1948, but increasing costs led to the 
>> search
>> for a new location.
>>
>> Besides the cost, Sevens said, the accommodations at Carroll College are
>> better suited for those with vision impairments - fewer people to share a
>> bathroom, air conditioned rooms, free parking and less expensive food.
>>
>> "We just got better treatment here (Carroll College)," Stevens said. 
>> "They
>> wanted us here and made us feel welcome."
>>
>> Tom McCarvel, Carroll College's vice president for community relations, 
>> said
>> couldn't be happier about the program being in Helena and on the Carroll
>> campus this year.
>>
>> "You lose your eyesight and your entire world changes," McCarvel said. 
>> "This
>> group is there to help these folks learn how to live again."
>>
>> Impressed with the entire concept, McCarvel said he hopes the Montana
>> Association for the Blind again looks to Carroll College to host the 
>> summer
>> program in years to come.
>>
>> Vandermissen is learning to accept that she soon will be blind, but it
>> hasn't come without a struggle.
>>
>> "I'm coming to grips with the fact that I'm 33 and this isn't supposed to
>> happen," she said, adding that she isn't as angry was she once was.
>>
>> "You can't sit and be angry about it or let if define you as a person
>> because you have a life to live," Vandermissen said.
>>
>> Reporter Alana Listoe can be reached at 447-4081 or at
>> alana.listoe at helenair.com.
>>
>>
>> http://www.helenair.com/articles/2007/07/08/montana_top/a01070807_01.txt
>>
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