Essay On Life Before And After The Kentucky School For The Blind

No little girl at just four years old wants to be away from her parents. I would have to be away from mine for five days of every week. I couldn’t believe this was happening to me after spending all my life so far at home with my parents. Although I thought that the change was too big for me, because I felt that I still needed the comfort of being with my mom and dad, I knew that this school would help me be independent, learn to read and write and walk unaided, and to relate with other people including students in my situation. After I was born, my parents knew something was wrong with me. I had all ten fingers and toes, but from birth my eyes did not function. When mom or dad smiled at me, they couldn’t figure out why I didn’t respond. It transpired I have an eye condition called anophthalmia.
At home I had very little independence. Although I wanted to do things for myself, my parents had to do things for me because I was blind. I had no confidence walking, because I couldn’t know what was in front of me, so we always walked together with me holding on to them. I could get myself a glass of water and stuff, but couldn’t read or write; my mom chose my clothes, cooked for me, read to me, etc. At the age I should have been learning to read and write, my mom or my dad had to write my homework. They would ask me which letter, and when I said it they wrote it down for me. To read and write I needed to learn Braille – a touch-based reading system based on patterns of raised dots. At that time my parents didn’t know what Braille was, nor did they know who could teach me how to use it.
My mom and dad were determined to find a school that would take care of me and my needs. In the meantime, while they were trying to find a suitable school, they enrolled me in “Head Start”, to learn social skills that I wouldn’t get at home. Also, from the ages of three to four I attended the Russellville elementary school where I learned the basics like my ABC’s, although I of course I was unable to write, as the other (sighted) students could. I couldn’t help feeling out of place there. Although I knew I was different to other kids, I couldn’t understand why they were not running into things as I was. Also, when the teachers spoke to me they spoke louder (as though I was also deaf!). I think even they felt that I didn’t belong there; it was my teacher Anne who said to my parents that the Kentucky School for the Blind would not only help me learn to read and to write, but would also teach me independence.
So now I’m going to be starting a new school! As it was two hundred miles away from our home, I would have to sleep in a dorm five nights a week and go home on weekends. That meant I’d have to stay away from my parents and be assigned a “dorm parent”. But I would be learning to read and write, to walk independently and to learn other new skills. This was going to be a big, big change for me. However, I must tell you about when I met with Dr. Greenlee to evaluate me. He said, “Jennifer Hyams, you are a smart little girl”. I’ll never forget how I felt inside. For the first time, someone was telling me I was smart, making me feel less of a burden and more like other people. I immediately felt I’d learn a lot here.
Now I’m learning to write! In my first Braille class, the teacher sat me in front of this big Braille writer machine, taught me how to put the paper in, and then how to write my name and to feel it in Braille. After a lot of practice, I went from a girl that couldn’t write at all, to knowing how to write my name in Braille. By the end of the first year I could write sentences. This was a massive change. My mom used to write for me, but now I could write on my own.
And I’m going to walk on my own, too! My mobility teacher Ms. Farroll told me the cane would let me know what was in front of me so that I’d not have to depend on others and could walk by myself. This was completely new to me. Before now I had just held on to mom or dad. Ms. Farroll put this light cane in my hand and told me to hold the grip of the cane and make side-to-side sweeping movements. It was a little scary walking on my own at first, but the more I used my cane the more I became confident, and for the first time in my life I felt I had some independence. I really could walk out on my own if I wanted to!
I called my parents to tell them I was learning how to write my name on the Braille writer and how I’m being taught how to use a cane, and. My dad said “we will practice your walking in our neighborhood when you get home this weekend, Jennifer”.
Looking back, I can say now that going to the Kentucky School for the Blind really changed my life. Before I went there, I had practically no independence. I couldn’t walk on my own – I had to hold onto someone – usually my mom or dad. I couldn’t read or write, either. I did like being in my own bed every night of course, and having my mom read to me every night at bedtime. That was something I really missed at the new school.
But now, having been to the Kentucky School for the Blind, although I did miss my times with my mom at bedtime, I am able to walk independently and have made new friends and I can read and write despite my blindness. I’ve also discovered how to do more things on my own, and I’ve learned how to live and interact with others, much more so than before I went to this wonderful school. I am very grateful to my parents, teachers and my friends for their support and especially for the help, teaching and support from everyone at the Kentucky School for The Blind.