by Darrell Shandrow
Darrell Shandrow is a junior in high school. His mother Betty is President of the Parents of Blind Children Division of the National Federation of the Blind of Arizona. Here is what can happen when parents of blind children get the support and help they need when faced with raising a blind child. Darrell tells it from his point of view:
I have congenital glaucoma. I lost my left eye when I was little, and I have very little usable vision in the other. I was also born deaf, but I have been able to hear since age five. My parents and the National Federation of the Blind are helping me to live independently. My parents felt that it was important that I learn cane travel and other orientation skills at an early age so that I would be independent. By doing so I have been able to participate in public service events and communicate using amateur radio for the last four years. My parents said that I could do anything I set my mind to. I was raised as a normal person who cannot see. I was not over-protected, and this is the major reason I can function normally.
My parents always felt that I should be allowed to function on the same grade level in school as that of the sighted. My mother took classes at the University of Arizona in Grade II Braille, Nemeth Braille Math Code, abacus, structure and function of the eye, and daily living skills. With this knowledge my mother helped me learn how to read and write and to have a normal life. By tutoring me at home, she made sure that I was not held back.
Due to my experiences with amateur radio, my parents felt that I was ready to use high-technology equipment. They got me an Apple II-E computer, an Echo III speech synthesizer, a printer, a Braille 'n' Speak note taker, and computer software that is written for the blind.
This technology makes things go much easier in school. I can take notes on the Braille 'n' Speak at school, and when I get home, I can send the notes to the computer, where they are printed and saved onto a disk.
The National Federation of the Blind has reinforced my independence. I can't help but get that feeling of independence when I'm around the blind adults I know in the Federation. I feel that the National Federation of the Blind promotes independence in many ways. I feel that one of the major ways is through the national convention. It's great to be around so many independent blind people.
My family and I had to fight for me to be allowed to attend public school, and the National Federation of the Blind helped us do it and paid the legal costs. We won, and I am now a junior in high school and have a 4.0 grade point average. There is a saying on the masthead of the Braille Monitor, and it's what makes us special: "The National Federation of the Blind is not an organization speaking for the blind it is the blind speaking for themselves," and that's it for me.