Scholar to students: ‘We can’t have low expectations of blind people’

Angela Howard recalled having to sit through a high school math class without a textbook, waiting day after day for one to be provided.

“Allowing a sighted child to sit through a semester in algebra without a textbook is unacceptable,” said Howard, who lost her sight as a child. “It should be unacceptable for a blind child, too.”

Howard and Angela Wolf — who met as 12-year-olds at a Federation for the Blind summer camp — gave UW–Madison students a glimpse into life without the use of eyes. Visiting campus as Brittingham Fellows, the two women spoke to classes in the Department of Rehabilitation Psychology and Special Education (RPSE), met with students during a drop-in session, and gave a presentation for RPSE faculty and graduate students.

“It’s acceptable and respectable to be blind,” Howard told students in the Individuals with Disabilities class, taught by Audrey Trainor, RPSE assistant professor.

The sessions with the two women sensitized the students — including many who are preparing to teach — about blindness and other physical impairments and how children with disabilities can be accommodated in regular classrooms. “My teachers, for positive and negative reasons, shaped who I am today,” Howard noted.

“Many teachers will be in classrooms where the disabilities represented by students will vary greatly,” Trainor explained. “The focus of the visit was on creating inclusive environments and classrooms and fostering independence for all students with disabilities, with a special focus on blindness.” She said the discussion was especially timely for one student teacher, who has been working with a blind student in a public-school classroom.

“We can’t have low expectations of blind people,” Howard told students. Wolf added, “Make sure blind kids are doing age-appropriate things.”

In the Instructional Methods class, Howard and Wolf worked with associate professor Kimber Malmgren’s students to brainstorm ways to accommodate blind students in a math lesson that involves plotting the slope of a line. Trainor said, “The greater discussion that emerged, however, addressed the work that is involved in accommodating and modifying for students with disabilities, the importance of challenging all children intellectually, and the need to foster self-determination in children with disabilities.”

Howard and Wolf served as models of individuals who did not allow blindness to stand in the way of achievement. Although both grew up in Louisiana, across the river from each other, their early experiences differed significantly.

Wolf went blind soon after a doctor gave her an excessive dose of vitamin A, which triggered a rare condition that destroyed her optic nerves. Because she had parents who were strong advocates and attended a public school district that promoted inclusive settings, she received the support services she needed.

Howard lost her sight slowly from a degenerative condition. Although legally blind throughout her early school years, she tried to use her limited sight to pass as sighted. Her school district offered few services for students with disabilities, and she remained in the general education setting with little thought or planning on her behalf. “I spent a lot of time just trying to get by,” she said, adding that her experience was more typical for blind children than Wolf’s.

At the summer camp where they met, the two girls met blind people who were successful and productive. They learned how to adapt — and came to view blindness as more of an inconvenience than an impairment. As a result, Wolf said, “I had a positive attitude about blindness.” Howard describes the “attitudinal shift” as more important than learning any particular skill, including Braille.

The two kept in touch, later attended the University of Texas and pursued advanced degrees in education-related fields. Wolf completed post-baccalaureate teacher certification and earned a master’s degree in education, while Howard earned a master’s degree in public policy and is pursuing a doctorate in sociology.

Wolf, who started doing art before she lost her sight, continued to pursue her artistic interests. She eventually found an art teacher who helped her explore alternative techniques in drawing, painting and sculpture. She has taught in general classrooms.

Howard’s studies have focused on education policy and the implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. She also has spent a semester in Africa and worked for AmeriCorps in Minneapolis.

Both women have been active with the National Federation of the Blind, which has been a leader in what they characterize as a civil rights battle against negative attitudes about blindness.

In addition to telling their personal stories, they introduced students to some of the adaptive materials — both high-tech and low-tech — that enable them to accomplish everyday tasks. Howard noted, “You can do anything with a little imagination and the right attitude.”

To learn more about living with blindness, visit the National Federation of the Blind online at http://www.nfb.org.