personal stories Archives

Self-Awareness Is Essential to Career Success

Posted on July 3, 2023 - 11:54 am by Shannon Carollo

Individual wearing eyeglasses and professional clothing looks at her reflection in a mirror

Editor’s note: Solid self-awareness is the basis for finding a career that complements you and for maintaining employment. The following blog on self-awareness has been updated as of July 2023. If career success is likened to a well-built building, thorough self-awareness is the foundation. In engineering, it should be noted that the taller the architectural […]

Max, My Son Who Is Deaf-Blind

Posted on June 21, 2023 - 8:15 pm by Tiara Jones

Adult sitting behind a teen who has a large grin and fingers resting in their mouth.

I’m Tiara, and my son’s name is Max. He has a rare genetic disorder called Chromosome 13, Partial Monosomy 13q, which is the partial deletion of the 13th chromosome that causes a combination of cognitive, sensory, and physical challenges. Our doctors initially told me not to expect Max to live. While dealing with that shocking […]

My Mother, the Wind Beneath My Wings

Posted on May 10, 2023 - 6:18 am by DeAnna Quietwater Noriega

Collage with Cover of Deanna's book with her and her Guide Dog and Picture of Deanna on left and her Mother on right

Editor’s note: It is fitting that for Mother’s Day, we revisit a post that Peer Advisor DeAnna Quietwater Noriega wrote in May, 2013, as a tribute to her mother. This post marked the inaugural post for the Peer Perspectives on Vision Loss Blog—now called “Visually Impaired, Now What?” Diagnosed with Congenital Glaucoma My mother was […]

How One Mother Spreads Awareness of Everything a Child Who is Blind/ Low Vision Can Achieve

Posted on May 2, 2023 - 10:41 am by Amy Lynn Smith

A woman with long dark blonde hair sits with her arm around the waist of a young boy with dark hair and glasses. They are both smiling. (Hilda and her son, Ashton)

Although she shares she was initially “heartbroken” when she learned her infant son, Ashton, was born blind, Hilda Dunford has learned as much from him as he has from her. As she says, “He’s taught me how to see with my heart.” Hilda had Ashton when she was 21, her first child with her husband, […]

Ode to a Master: Reflections on My TVI

Posted on April 26, 2023 - 1:03 am by Alexis Read

Teacher talks to young student in a red sweater who is touching a balloon-powered model car

Editor’s note: Teacher Appreciation Week is May 8-12, 2023. In recognition, Alexis Read shares about her beloved teacher of students with visual impairments (TVI). When my family moved to North Dakota in the summer of 1982, I met an educator who profoundly impacted my life and career choices. Phyllis, a young and energetic teacher of […]

Older posts

Newer posts