The Holiday Season is Approaching

The holiday season is approaching, and that means that decorations must be arranged, turkeys and ham must be carved and cut, all sorts of delicious foods prepared, and everyone is in the spirit of giving, helping, and doing for others. Yet many of us during the holidays don’t feel as if we can truly be a part of the celebration. Sure, we can all take, we can all enjoy from what others have to offer us, but sometimes, when we feel as if we are not able to truly give back in a significant way, especially during a time when everyone else seems to be doing so, the feeling of helplessness and being a burden seem to overwhelm us. During these times, it might seem easier to simply keep out of sight, to let those who can truly help, can truly give back, and can really be a contribution, do what must be done. It might seem a good idea to just stay out of the way, especially if we can’t see enough to carve the turkey, cut a slice of pie, cut down a holiday tree and set up the decorations, help move furniture around, and do all of those other things that our sighted family members and friends seem to do effortlessly. There are times when we do try to contribute, and are met with: “oh, that’s ok, I’ll get it.” Or “don’t worry about that, I’ll have one of the kids take care of it.” And we all know that our friends and family members mean well, but what they are really saying, and what we are taking from these comments are that such tasks, no matter how difficult or menial, are not going to be done correctly by us. It’s much more convenient that someone with sight take care of things, even if that someone might be a 7 year old child, or a person with much less mobility then us, someone who if it had not been for our lack of vision, would never have been asked to take on that responsibility. It isn’t easy to go from feeling helpless to suddenly challenge the world and prove that you are just as capable as everyone else. But we can start to change those thoughts of helplessness a little at a time. One of those ways is to be around people who do the things you want to do. Just from being around confident blind people, individuals who are either dealing with their vision loss or blindness in ways that appeal positively to us, we can pick up tricks, techniques, ideas and find great support for handling those situations that alone, have overwhelmed us in the past. The other day someone told me that their whole lives, they had been afraid to carve a turkey because they did not feel comfortable with their vision and using a really sharp knife to carve the holiday bird. But after observing a fellow center client saw through the turkey like an expert, under the use of sleep shades, they were convinced that they had been afraid of nothing for a very long time, that this was a simple task, and that they were ready to go home and carve their own turkey for their family during thanksgiving. Hey, something to consider is that bird is going to be eaten whether the lights are on or completely off, and believe it, if the lights go completely off on thanksgiving, someone will still carve the bird, serve the food, uncork the wine, pick up after the kids and nobody would say: “well, perhaps we better wait until tomorrow morning to eat because we will be able to have enough light to see and serve the food by then." Let’s not be afraid to do something because we think that someone with sight might be able to do a faster, better, or neater job. Perhaps your first Turkey will not be beautifully carved, but your second turkey will certainly be better, and the third, and forth and fifth will increase as you gain experience and confidence carving, or hauling wood, or setting the table, preparing the mashed potatoes, walking the neighbor’s dog, washing a friend’s car as a gift for getting free rides to and from the supermarket, anything we can think of. The more we do it, the better we will be at it. But we need to start somewhere. Perhaps this year we will carve the bird, perhaps next year we will prepare it, perhaps the year after we can pass on what we learn to someone else. Every journey no matter how large or small begins with a first step. Ask questions, meet people who have gone or are going through the things which you are living through, but remember, don’t remain stagnant. Step out of your comfort zone, even if those first few steps are small. Happy Holidays Alex Castillo.

2010 Employment Conference Notes - Dr. Fred Schroeder

These are notes I took from 2010 Employment Conference that Dr. Fred Schroeder spoke at. Dr. Fred Schroeder is a Professor at San Diego State University. He is a very good speaker and provided excellent information. Here are some quick notes I jotted down:

People thought I was only able to compete as much as amount of vision as I had to compete.

Do the things in life that you want to do.

It’s about attitude and not technique.

If the training is not hard then you didn’t put enough into it. Its an opportunity to learn about your blindness and how its going to be the rest of your life.

Challenge your own fears about blindness.

It’s an opportunity to get into the habit that you can do the things you want to do.

Staff cares about you individually.

Gain individual and professional experiences from other blind individuals.

Have to do the work for the next generation, move blindness forward, Collective momentum.

In the face of low expectations that are around all of us, if we are to achieve our goals we need a support system, we need to know other blind individuals.

If we collectively succeed we don’t seem so powerless anymore

It sustains us by being collectively together.

Society has low expectations for blind people.

Expectations are that blind people are “car pool dummies”

If staff is not pushing you then they are not doing their job for you.

You need skills but you need more than skills to succeed.

Networking and being active with a consumer organization is important because they have already dealt with the same issues.

They key element is thinking what your dream is in life and assuming that there is a solution.

Don’t hide the days when you feel discouraged about blindness. Go talk to staff when you feel discouraged about blindness.

Under the law, Employers can not use blindness or disability as a reason to hire or fire someone.

We are going fishing tomorrow, hope to catch a lot of fish. The weather is going to be just fine. Fish fry to follow.

The Summer is Upon us

Hello Everyone,
So the summer is fast approaching and the center is getting ready for the change. As with the change of climate (we are all thankful for that especially those of us not used to the snow), there are many exciting things happening at the center and the apartments. Thus upcoming week we will be welcoming our college students to the Center Life! Stephanie, Rachna, and Maida will be joining us starting this week. We are extremely excited to have them form part of the group, yes we are an awesome group, and inject us with some of their young energy! As soon as they get here we will get things going with a fishing trip. Stephanie's dad will guide us all in the techniques of .... well I don't know much about fishing, but I am sure I will learn it on Tuesday. The rest of the clients will be attending a vocational training program on Tuesday and Wednesday. They are going to learn job skills and look sharp.
Our director and godmother, Fatos will be traveling to Turkey as she teaches blindness skills with the organization Blind Corps (www.blindcorps.org). We wish her the best on her travels and we can't wait to hear the stories.
Most of the clients are attending the National Federation of the Blind National Convention in Dallas, Texas. Some of our staff members will be there as well providing support guidance, and harassing the students in case they want to stay in bed and not attend sessions!
That's all for now! Enjoy the beginning of the summer :)

his my first posting, I want to say "welcome " to all.

Hey all!

Hows everyone doing today?

New Year, New readers and activities

The new year brings new things and a new view. We are committed this year to updating this blog more often, posting all of our events and keeping you up to date with all of what we are up to.
This year so far...
We have 2 new Clients Nancy and James who are both doing an incredible job living at the center and doing the program. They have brought us closer together by their charisma and food. Yes James is a great cook and helps set up daily dinners at the apartments. Nancy keeps everyone up to date on what is going on and always has a cheerful smile for everyone.
Braille is being practiced a lot more at the apartments with clients helping each other out and providing help and encouragement.
We are planning on going ice skating in February as a group we will let you know how it goes.
The readers are back and along with studying and cramming for tests, they come out to the apartments to give us some of their time and we all have a blast. We are planning a superbowl party with snacks, and more. The teams are already forming and the rivalry is beginning to show, it will be fun!