;
Lorem Ipsum Dolor Spring 2016
3
Orientation and Mobility Specialist taught me how to get to my classes and my
interpreter would tell me what she said, during the break in the O & M lesson and
upon my request, the interpreter told me what the students were wearing, where they
did/did not congregate, and their emotional appearance. Her taking on the role of an
intervener, a type of environmental translator, played a critical role later when I
began the classes. I had assumed everyone would be wearing dress clothes or
business suits. While some did, most did not! I could blend in but use my cane,
braille, etc. I could be a deafblind person and be OK! I did. What is my only wish?
I wish I could have had that experience a lot sooner.
Eduardo
I have been profoundly deaf since birth. Though my vision was strong when I
was young, it drastically began to diminish when I was fourteen years old. I grew up
in California until I moved to Atlanta, Georgia for my education.
As I started attending Atlanta Area School for the Deaf (AASD) in Clarkston,
GA, I quickly adopted the subtle differences of Georgia's American Sign Language
and made some new Deaf friends. By the time I got into the high school, I noticed
that I was losing my vision. I squinted to catch a better view of my friends fanning
their hands around me. I felt dazed. My counselor noticed my lack of focus and
earnestly urged me to go see my eye doctor for an assessment. The day that I visited
the eye doctor was the toughest day of my life. It was then that I was diagnosed with
Usher Syndrome. I was fourteen years old. At the time of writing this, I cannot see in
the darkness or semi-darkness, such as dusk. I have tunnel vision; that is, I can see
15
