So..Dr. D. picks me up and we head to ASB at around 10 A.M. Once we arrived we briefly set up in the Student Center and then grabbed a bite at one of the most classy eating establishments...Wendy's!!! At around noon the whole crew from the Center for Low Vision Rehab (CLVR) is back at ASB preparing for the families to arrive...but of course, I had to play n the playground before getting into serious mode.
From 12:30-1:00 kids and families FLOOD in! The CLVR only had around 15 confirmed teens coming out to ASB...but boy were we shocked! There were probably 30 or more VIP's (visually impaired persons..you'll learn my lingo soon...) and their families ecstatic about the day's activities. Lots of the ASB students were in attendance, so it was fun to have some kids that knew the place show all of us newbs around.
After an ice-breaker, the teens headed to the art building for a fun beading activity and all the parents got a tour of the ASB Independent Living Center...an incredible building/program ASB offers high school and college age kids. The Independent Living Center allows blind and visually impaired kids to experience what life is like on their own or partially on their own. Everyone learns how to keep a budget, pay bills, cook, and keep the house in order while balancing school and/or a job. The building is quite nice, equipped with a great kitchen, laundry rooms, study rooms with Closed-Circuit Televisions for homework and reading, and awesome apartment-like suites for the students. SUCH A COOL PLACE!
Another thing the parents learned about was being an advocate for their visually impaired kids in the school systems. SO MANY kids attend schools where they do not have the tools to succeed. Many do not even know what kinds of questions they need to be asking the administrators. Others do not know about the assistive technology that they can use to succeed in the classroom. In quite a few cases, administrators do not pay any attention to the visually impaired kid if they are making a C or higher. This just hurts my heart- I want to give these principals from such schools a little talkin' to. I was off with the teens during this time, but from what I heard...this session went really well and helped many families. Whew.
After the parentals learned how to help their kids get their scholastic needs met, the teens headed to the Independent Living Center for a support/focus group-like meeting. AND WE WERE LEARNING ABOUT HOW TO BE OUR OWN SELF ADVOCATES! This is a topic I am SO passionate about, because...as a high school chick living with low vision- i have learned that speaking up and addressing my needs is a must...not even an option. The Independent Living teachers moderated a focus group for us and I could tell so many of the teens were on fire about this topic! Almost everyone spoke up, and those that were used to hiding behind their visual impairment learned the skills to stand up for themselves in the crazy-hard school setting. Now, I am not saying all the shy ones had this "lightbulb" moment and all decided not to hide anymore...but I could just see a new kind of smile and hope in their faces!!! I left that meeting so inspired-so awesome.
After a breif popcorn break, we boarded the ASB bus and headed down to the Equestrian Center! We all got the chance to participate in leading a horse thru this obstacle course that was set up. HERE'S THE KICKER...the ponies had NO HALTER/BRIDAL/LEADROPE! We were each given a carrot, and had to lead the cute animals around barrels, over ramps, thru weaving cones, and finally over a big jump! It was challenging, but we had so much fun! The horses were so cute and put smiles on so many of our faces. I had a pony named Strawberry who had this funny hobby of licking...so needless to say, i got my fair share of horse kisses!!! LOVE THAT HORSE! I really think horses can make such a huge impact on people- they are the most theraputic animals. They can bring out so much of even the shyest person.
After horsin' around, our day ended with a hot dog supper and marshmallow roast...what a delicious end to a fabulous day! I think our second IMPACT group was even better than the first. I am on a kind of "high" right now- just being around so many kids that can really say they "get it" is an indescribably great feeling. Even if we are just hanging out- there's just this warm feeling of understanding that you cannot find with those who haven't "been there," ya know? NOT TO SAY that us V.I. kids do not LOVE those who encourage us every day...it's just a different kind of feeling when you are around other V.I. (visually impaired) kids!
I have GOT to sleep! Pictures to come soon!!!
PEACE OUT!
I'm so glad everything went well. I can only imagine what it was like for the kids. What a cool bond you guys are making. :)
ReplyDelete~Eric (from UAB)