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many years, she had been a deaf professional who had taught a wide range
of students with physical, emotional, and academic deficits in inclusion,
resource, and self- contained settings.
In 2011 at age 38, Dana was diagnosed with Usher Syndrome, which is
a relatively rare genetic disorder that is a combination of hearing loss and
visual impairment. Despite the setback, Dana continued
to serve her
students despite being legally blind and deaf. In her classroom, Dana has
always been proactive in solving her day-to-day professional demands and
meeting her students' physical, academic, and/or emotional needs. Dana's
disabilities are significant challenges that most people will never face. With
her vision rapidly deteriorating, Dana voluntarily put herself on the fast track
to learn Braille. Many people often say that life is about choices. In Dana's
situation, however, she never contemplated the "wait 'til tomorrow" approach
to learn Braille. There was an extreme sense of urgency to learn Braille for
communication purposes AND to still be an effective teacher.
In June 2012, Dana attended the 2012 Georgia Assistive Sensory
Project Conference in Cave Spring, Georgia. With her friend Barbara, who
was also her SSP. Dana attended the conference to help improve her
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