CULTURAL IMMERSION: TEENS WHO ARE BLIND 1

Cultural Immersion: Teens Who Are Blind

Carol King-Ries

Wilmington University
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Abstract

When most people hear a Ray Charles song, or read the Odyssey by Homer, they probably think

that these are brilliant individuals engaging in their chosen profession. Most people do not stop

to think about how they got to where they are; and they especially do not think about how they

were as a teenager. Cultural acceptance of blind people has come a long way. Blind teens have

gone from being ostracized, to being educated and prepared for living independently. They still

have to fight to get what they require, and are sometimes still left out of the picture of society.

However, they still achieve their dreams, overcome the odds, and live happy, fulfilled lives.

Even though they do not see like others, they want to be seen as a valuable part of the

community.
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Introduction

When I was a child, I had an interesting way of seeing the world. If I could not see you

that meant that you could not see me. I have learned that many children think this way.

However, I find that for blind and sight impaired people, the less you see, the less you are seen.

The more sight you lose, the less the world includes you. This fact was hard for me. I began to

lose my sight when I was in my early twenties. Even then, I had some sense of who I was, and I

also had substantial experience with independent living. However, I did not think much about

those who were born blind, or lost substantial sight at an early age. They would enter the

tumultuous period of becoming a teenager and then, becoming an adult without one of their

major senses. They could also experience the alienation of being “other”, and being socially

ostracized because of being different. How do they experience this transition and treatment?

How do they build community outside of their families; and how do they deal with the primal

urge to break from the family nest and build their own? As someone who is a member of the

blind and sight impaired community, I know very little about teenagers who are blind or sight

impaired. It is shocking how little scholarly work has been done on this group. However, the

essays and movies I have encountered have been interesting in the depiction of this sometimes

triumphant, sometimes traumatized group of individuals.

The History of the Treatment and Education of the Blind and Sight Impaired

Blind and sight impaired people exist in all geographic areas of the world, in all facets of

life, and in many professions. In music, you have such luminaries as Ray Charles, Stevie

Wonder, Diane Schuur, and Andrea Bocelli to name a few. In science, you have the early

physicist, Nicholas Sanderson who was given Sir Isaac Newton’s chair at the University of
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Cambridge; and in recent times, Wanda Diaz Merced gave a fascinating TED Talk about being

an astronomer who is blind. In literature, there are writers like Homer who wrote “The

Odyssey”; and John Milton who wrote “Paradise Lost”. There are brilliant blind teachers,

lawyers, parents, artist, chefs, and so on. You name it, there will probably be a blind person

doing it. However, the treatment of blind people was in the past, and continues to be prejudiced.

In ancient times, there are very few depictions of the blind. However, blind people

existed in many occupations. There seemed to have been two views about blindness: that it was

a curse, or a pathway to spiritual enlightenment (britannica.com, 2018). Some people were so

cruel and backwards that they would take blind infants and children and abandon them in the

woods to die or be eaten by animals (actionfund.org, 2018).

Biblical text depict Jesus healing the blind, but scholars differ on whether they thought

this was a depiction of spiritual healing or actual physical healing. There was very little

understanding of those who are blind or sight impaired.

During the Enlightenment period of the 17th and 18th century, philosophical questions

emerged concerning those who were blind. Philosophers began to ask question about the nature

of understanding, and how this applied to the blind. These questions had implications with

regards to those who are sight impaired receiving education (britannica.com, 2018). Two

philosophers had an interesting argument in the late 17th and early 18th century. John Locke

wrote about the idea that if a person could not see, they could not perceive something. George

Berkley disagreed with this idea. He argued that “what a person saw with the eye was the

inference, not the essence of a thing” (britannica.com, 2018). This was not a theoretical

argument for the blind. If the blind could perceive without sight, they could be educated

(britannica.com, 2018).
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In 1784, the first school for the blind was opened in France by Professor Valentin Hauy.

He was inspired by the brilliant scientist and musicians who were blind. He found out about the

tactile alphabet the blind were developing on their own to correspond with each other. Hauy

then developed his own raised alphabet system to teach his students. This system would remain

the standard for the next fifty years (britannica.com, 2018). From that point, there was a rift

between what the sighted thought the blind needed, and what the blind thought they needed.

This argument is still occurring in some ways today.

In the late 1700s, Trade schools were created in England for the blind. They did not

teach reading and writing, just a trade. In 1804, Johann Wilhelm Klein founded a school for the

blind in Vienna which worked on preparing the blind for integration into standard schools with

their peers (britannica.com, 2018). This sparked and argument that would go on for years. Do

you educate the blind in a segregated environment, teach them a trade only, or prepare them for

integration into the mainstream.

Louis Braille, who was born in 1809, developed the Braille reading system in 1820. He

was eleven years old! Although it was not immediately accepted, it would become the reading

standard for the blind (actionfind.org, 2018). The Braille system was preferred by blind and sight

impaired activist all over the world. It is still being updated today to reflect the changes in

writing styles and requirements.

In the early 1820s, residential schools for the blind were established in the United States.

The first was the New England Asylum for the Blind which would become the well-known

Perkins School for the Blind (actionfund.org, 2018). This meant that children who were blind

had to leave there families and go away to be educated. Most of the students were taught the

“blind trades” such as chair caning, rug weaving and the like. Many of the youth would go from
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the schools to sheltered workshops to use these skills. Unfortunately, when minimum wage

legislation occurred in 1938, it made an exception for sheltered workshops (actionfund.org,

2018). Therefore, to this day, people with disabilities who work in sheltered workshops can be

paid less than, and in most cases much less than, minimum wage. States like Washington and

California are passing laws to prevent this unfair practice from occurring (Dejean, 2017).

In 1920, the Smith-Fess Act established the first vocational rehabilitation program for

civilians. It was modeled after a program aimed at veterans from World War 1 (actionfund.org,

2018). In the 1930s and 1940s, many rehabilitation laws came into effect that impacted the

blind. In 1940, the National Federation for the Blind (NFB) was established. It began a “civil

rights” movement for the blind. It looked to establish self-governance and determination for the

blind. The NFB promoted the empowering fact “that blind people are not defective sighted

people, but are nothing more than normal people who cannot see” (actionfund.org, 2018).

In the 1970s, additional legislative work was done that would impact the blind and sight

impaired. Title 5 of the Rehabilitation Act was enacted in 1973. Even though some thought

Civil Rights protections for the disabled should have been put into the Civil Rights Act of 1964,

it was put in the framework of rehabilitation (actionfund.org, 2018). Title 5 addressed

discrimination, accommodations in the workplace, architectural and transportation access

(actionfund.org, 2018). In the 1970s advocates for the disabled began to forcefully argue for

mainstreaming students in education. In 1975, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act

was passed. It was the predecessor to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)

which would be passed in Congress in 1990. Schools for the blind began to diminish as blind

and sight impaired students were mainstreamed with their peers (britannica.com, 2018). This
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would have the most effect on blind and sight impaired children and youth. They would no

longer have to leave their communities and families to pursue education and training.

The Workforce Innovations Opportunity Act (WIOA) was signed into law in 2014

(wikipedia.org, 2018). WIOA is legislation that is meant, in part, to get Americans with

substantial barriers to employment access to high quality jobs and careers. It includes

requirements for working with transitioning youth, ages 14 – 24, and preparing them for

independence and the workforce. This includes things like finding internships, volunteer

opportunities, and summer jobs for the youth. It also provides for independent living training

and transitioning into post-secondary education and supportive work opportunities. This has

substantially changed Vocational Rehabilitation for youth.

Today, teens who are blind still have to fight for their accommodations and inclusion.

This fight is waged in the schools, on the playground, and in the workplace. However, with the

legislation, advocacy and litigation, this fight is being made fairer, and more likely to end

victoriously for youth and those transitioning into adulthood.

Indirect Immersion Activity – Documentary Film

The documentary film I watched was titled “Do You Dream in Color”, which was

directed by Abigail Fuller and Sarah Ivy. It was released in 2015, and can be purchased online.

It is describe as a coming of age story. The documentary follows four teens who are blind and

the pursuit of their personal dreams.

The first person they introduce was Connor, an inter-racial boy whose dream is to

become a member of an elite skateboarding team. Connor is funny, very social, and fearless in

pursuit of this dream. His parents talk about his life, how they found out about his blindness as
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an infant, and how that affected them. Connor and his parents talk about the bullying he has

experienced. This is a major drive for his dream. He says that skating helps him to feel free and

gives him some relief from what happens at school. He feels that if he is accepted into the

skateboard team that would take the sting out of being teased. The documentary follows him as

he works hard and falls a lot while preparing his skills video for the team to review.

The documentary then introduces Sarah, a student who is trying to secure a spot in the

study abroad program. She wants to go to Portugal, because it was her mother’s native country.

Sarah was blind at birth, and her mother died in a car accident when she was five. She is being

raised by her single father and has two older siblings. She is an excellent student, is already

taking AP Spanish, and is very mature for her age. The film follows her as she jumps through

hoops to convince the organization that she is capable of traveling to another country by herself

to study for nine months.

Nick’s dream is to become a Rock Star. He was born prematurely, and gradually lost his

sight. He and his sighted twin brother play music together. He is the song writer, and his music

comes from a place of pain. When he and his brother were preparing to go to 6th grade, he was

told that he could not go because the school was not prepared for him. He had to stay home

while his brother went to school. He became very depressed. His mother took two months of

family leave to fight for his return to school. This battle cost her time and $45,000 in lawyers’

fees. The film follows Nick and his band as they practice and look for gigs to play.

Carina is a Hispanic female who is the child of an undocumented single mother. She was

born with Glaucoma. She had a successful Cornea transplant, and then had an operation that was

intended to correct her vision further. The operation was botched, and she lost most of her

vision. At 12 years old, she went from good sight to blindness and having to use a white cane
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and guide dog. She became very depressed. Her dream was to become the first person in her

family to get a High School diploma. However, she is not getting the support she needs from her

school, and therefore, attends school sporadically. The documentary follows her and an advocate

as they fight to get her the provisions she needs to graduate with her class. Her struggles are

painful to experience.

As the documentary follows these teens, some themes emerge. I watched this film three

times, and each time I noticed a different theme. The first time I experienced the film, I was

drawn to the teen’s determination. Each of them, in their own ways, showed determination.

They had to fight for their dreams. The second time I watched, I was drawn to the trauma in

their lives. The loss of vision, the loss of a close family member, bullying, being left out of

school, having an undocumented parent, and having no advocates in the school system had

profound effects on the teens.

The last time I watched the film, I was drawn to the parents. Their varying abilities to

support their teen and the effect this “coming of age” was having on them. It is hard to let your

kids spread their wings, but how much more reluctant is a parent if their child has an impairment.

This is a Spoiler alert. Connor made the team; Sarah did not get to go to Portugal, but to

Spain instead; Nick and the band got a gig in the shopping mall; and, unfortunately, Carina did

not graduate from High School which was heartbreaking. Connor, Sarah and Nick are in college.

Carina went away to the Colorado School for the Blind. Also, Sarah made it to Portugal twice

while she was studying abroad. I did not doubt that she would get there.

Viewing this film made me realize two things. First, that there are underlying themes to

the teen’s experience. Themes such as trauma, determination, and low expectations of others.

Second, there are also individual differences, as well as sub groups. For example, there are those
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who are born blind, and those who become blind. There are people with disabilities who are

undocumented, or have undocumented parents. The film highlighted for me the fact that no

group is a monolith. Teens who are blind are a diverse group of individuals with some

similarities and some differences.

Direct Cultural Immersion Experience: A Forum at a Public Library

There are not many events that blind teens participate in as a group. There were two

events in one weekend, but I was in North Carolina for a wedding that weekend and was not able

to attend. I am planning to attend the Delaware Transition conference in December. I have

heard that it is a great event, which is attended by many teens with disabilities.

The event I decided to use for my direct cultural immersion event is a forum I was asked

to moderate for the National Federation of the Blind at the Newark Library. It was a screening

of “Do You Dream in Color” and a discussion which would include teens. People who are blind

do watch movies. They use a, now widely available, tool called video description. Underlying

vocals describe what is happening on the screen visually. The voice also reads subtitles, which

was important because one of the main subject’s mother only spoke Spanish.

Twelve people attended the event. Only one blind teen was in attendance. He was the

focal point of our discussion, and provided great insight on the people represented in the film.

There were grandparents of a blind child present who were very interested in the teen’s

school experience. They were trying to make the decision of whether to send their grandchild to

a residential school for the blind or let him finish his education at home. One of their main

concerns was that they were beginning to see some bullying going on with their grandchild and

they had concerns about the school being able to give him what he will need in the future. The
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teen was very grounded in his response. He talked about the fact that there could be bullying

anywhere, and about the fact that it may be a hard transition for a child to leave home at a young

age. He also talked about the fact that he had to change schools at one point, and change his

teacher for the Visually impaired (TVI) recently. He advised them to keep the child home for as

long as possible and reconsider the decision around 6th grade. The grandparents told me after the

discussion how much they appreciated the teen’s perspective. This highlighted for me how

important inter-generational contact and conversations are.

After this event, I asked around to see if there were any mentoring programs for blind

teens to mentor those younger, or each other. There are not. I also asked about whether there are

any intentional inter-generational events were parents can interact with teens, teens with older

blind people, and so forth. There are not.

This event, once again, highlighted for me how little effort is being made to study teens

who are blind and understand what they need, and what they have to give. It was a great event; I

just wish more teens were in attendance. I would have loved to hear more perspectives.

Interview with a Sight Impaired Teen

For the purpose of anonymity, I have changed the name of the person I am interviewing. He is a

client of the agency I intern with, but I am using him because I do not know any teenagers who

are blind who are not a client of the agency. I did not initially meet him at the agency, but have

recently crossed paths with him there. He is working on increasing his assisted technology

skills, and my current location is in the Technology center. I allowed him to select his own

pseudonym. I thought it might provide an interesting insight into his personality.

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Interviewee’s Pseudonym: Magic Don Juan

Interviewee’s age and grade: 10th grade and 15 2/3 years

How do you like to be referred to as: blind, visually impaired, sight impaired, etc., or does it

make a difference?

Neither. I do not want that as part of how I am identified.

Who do you live with?

I live with my Dad and Grandma.

Do the adults in your home want to make you more independent, or do they want to shelter you?

They want me to be more independent. I had to get my own pizza out of the oven today. I then

asked if he was learning how to cook. He replied that I am learning to cook a little. I am

shopping and making Peanut Butter cookies next Tuesday. I asked where he would be doing

this. He replied that “I will be doing this at DVI with another teen.

What schools have you attended?

He told me the schools he has attended. I have left them out to further protect his identity. He

has attended all mainstream schools.

What has been your favorite educational experience?

In 7th grade, I won an award for having the best essay in the state. It was in the Share Peace

contest.
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What has been the most challenging thing about school?

The visual aspect of school. Pictures and anything visual presented a challenge. I followed up

with a question about how he copes with this challenge. He replied that I am helped by my

imagination, my “para”, and my brain.

Have you experienced bullying? If so, what form did it take?

Middle School had a lot of bullying with everyone. I expected more bullying in High School. In

High School, I experienced more popularity.

What is your social life like?

I have a great social life. Lots of friends, not being left out of activities, and not being bullied. I

sit at the popular table at lunch, and get attention from the girls. He sits at the popular table at

school.

Do you think people treat you differently because you are blind?

Slightly. They open doors for me more often. I purposely find my own closed doors. I asked

him why he does this. He replied that it is important to me for more independence. My game is

called “Dodging the Open Door”.

How would you describe your state of mind: happy, sad, anxious, depressed, angry or other?

I am a happy person. I asked how he stays happy. He replied that I learn to get over things. I

asked what he does if something gets him down. He replied that I can talk with my Dad.
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What are you hopeful about?

I am hopeful about getting a cornea transplant, and being a business manager so that I don’t have

to work for anyone else.

What are you less hopeful about?

I am not less hopeful about anything. God is there for me, so why be less hopeful.

Do you feel understood? If not, what do you think people should understand about you?

Yes. I feel like people understand me.

What do you want to do/be when you transition into adulthood?

I want to go to college, and then manage his own business. I asked if he wants a family? He

replied that I want a family, and then retirement. I asked what type of person he would marry. I

thought he might say if he would marry someone with a sight impairment. He then went on to

reply with the race of the person he wanted to marry. We had a good laugh.

What question should I have asked that I did not?

None.

What do you want in your life that is currently missing?

Money, I want more money. His Grandma then called him for dinner and the interview was

over.
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Interview Analysis:

As you can tell by his selection of a pseudonym, he is a funny young man. His optimistic

responses did not surprise me. He presents as a very positive person. He is a tall, medium built

young man, who by the accounts of another looks older than his age. He learned Braille at a

very early age. He is currently learning to write with the help of an Aunt. He has some vision

and uses it when he can, but he is very good at Braille. He is also very fast on his technology

devices. The speed of his voice over is very fast. He also cracked on the speed of my typing and

voice over throughout the interview. I can see him being a popular guy, but because he is so

positive, I am not sure he would tell me if he was not. He appears to have very strong support

with his Dad and Grandma. His mother is not in his life. I learned this as we waited for a bus

together in a previous conversation. I chose not to explore this because I thought it may be too

sensitive, and I was not sure if it applied to the concerns of him being a teen with a sight

impairment. I also chose not to explore whether a Cornea transplant was a valid option for him.

I did not want to cross any HIPPA lines; but I hope it is a possibility for him. I think he will

accomplish a great deal whether he gets the transplant or not.

Summary and Synthesis

This was a good experience for me. When I decided to select teens who are blind or sight

impaired as a group, I expected to find a great deal of information. I did not. I found pockets of

information. I read essays from a series of books produced by the National Federation of the

Blind under the series title “The Kernel Books”. I found essays on other websites like the

American Foundation for the Blind that addressed youth and parents of the blind. However,

there was very little scholarly work, or even professional articles done about this group.
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I expected to find the youth to be sad, isolated, and angry. Although there was some of

that, I did not see it in mass. What I did notice, is that those who were born blind, seemed to

experience less depression around blindness as compared with those who became blind over

time. This was evident in the documentary I saw, and the essays I read.

The other thing that stood out to me was the determination that these teens showed. I am

sure there are incidences of frustration and giving up. This was highlighted in the film by

Carina’s experience. But what I noticed is that even though they may sit on the side of the road

and cry, they eventually get back up again and keep moving forward. This may be a

generalization that is why I would love more scholarly works about this group. Those writing

essays, books and participating in films are a particularly motivated group. They are not

representative of the whole group.

The other thing that stood out to me is the bullying this group experience. The CDC did

a study on bullying, and found that one in four children experience it. They also stated that the

number one predictor of bullying is appearing different (CDC.gov, 2018). Youth who are blind

definitely stand out as different. Therefore, their probability of being selected as the subject of

bullying is high. It made me think about how we protect them, and build their resiliency, and

create allies for them within their environments.

As I stated earlier, this group is not a monolith. They have a great deal to give back to

their community and to each other. They are not invisible. They just need a light shined on

them.
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Assessing the Field Work Agency

The field work agency I am working at is the Delaware Division for the Visually

Impaired (DVI). Its main office is at 1901 DuPont Highway in New Castle, Delaware. It is

located on the Herman Holloway Campus. It is a pretty campus that houses the state Mental

Hospital, and other state agencies. It is hard to access via public transportation. If you take the

bus there, you will have at least a one mile walk to reach the building once you go pass the

guard’s gate. Therefore, most clients take DART Paratransit, or get rides to the New Castle site.

There is a site in lower Delaware, Sussex County. It is in Milford Delaware. It serves

mainly those in Sussex and Kent counties. The majority of the population served is in New

Castle County; therefore, they mainly use the New Castle office.

The New Castle site is on a main thoroughfare in Delaware. However, I would not

consider it to be in the midst of a community. There are not stores or eateries in walking

distance. It is a destination point; you would not go there unless you were intending to go to one

of the agencies or the hospital.

When you enter the building, the lobby is locked due to its proximity to the Mental

Hospital. When you enter the lobby, it is bright but cluttered. There is a large counter and a

copy machine. It is difficult for me to navigate on my own, even though I have been going there

two days a week for ten weeks now.

The halls feel like a maze, and have recycle bins lining them. This is difficult for a

person with a white cane to navigate. I was sitting in the Tech lab, and heard someone trying to

navigate the halls asking why there were so many bins in the hall. I have complained about the

same thing. I have noticed that there appears to be fewer bins, or I am getting use to their

location.
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DVI is the oldest state agency. It is also one of the lowest funded agencies. Because of

this, training is not a priority. There are exceptions. The Vocation Rehabilitation and Transition

counselors get training through the government because of their work with the Workforce

Innovations Opportunity Act (WIOA). The other group that gets some training around youth is

the Teachers of the Visually Impaired (TVI). There does not appear to be much internal training

that occurs. I asked if there were any books or workbooks for working with Blind teens, and was

told that there were none. I think there are some innovative ways that the supervision could get

their staff further training at a more reasonable cost. Online training such as webinars could be

found and utilized. Also, you could employ a train the trainer situation where you send people to

training with the caveat that they come back and train the team. This would stretch the training

dollars. Another avenue for training is the Delaware Transitions Conference. It is attended by

some of the staff. The registration just recently came out, so I am not sure how many staff

members will attend.

The agency’s funding has shifted over time. With the implementation of WIOA, there is

more funding for working with transitioning youth ages 14 – 24 years. However, other than the

Federal training, I am not sure how many of these dollars you can spend on training.

With regards to staff sensitivity to this population, I find that it varies. Some staff is very

sensitive and open to the clients. Other staff is very judgmental. There was a circumstance

where the teens had an opportunity to attend a week long camp. Not enough people got their

information in on time, and the opportunity had to be cancelled. Some of the staff was very

negative towards the parents and teens. It was as if the blame finger was being pointed, instead

of trying to understand why people did not do what they needed to do.
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The agency does solicit feedback from all the populations it serves. It has advisory

boards for Vocational Rehabilitation and for Independent Living. It also has recently supported

the development of a Student Advisory Council.

They do hold information sessions twice a year for transitioning youth. These sessions

are not typically well attended. They are trying some changes in tactics to get people to

participate, such as direct contact, Facebook, and other social media.

DVI currently serves approximately 90 transitioning youth. They serve a total of 289

students. They support mostly youth in public schools because they do get direct referrals from

them. However, they are constantly reaching out to Opticians, Optometrist and eye specialist to

let them know that their services are available, and to generate more referrals.

There are no definite numbers concerning the population of blind youth. However, the

agency knows it is not reaching all the blind youth in the state.

Personal Cultural Competencies

Since I started paying close attention to this population, I have noticed several

competency skills. First, they appreciate a verbal address. This is different with sighted

individuals who often prefer eye contact first, and then a verbal address. Second, because they

can be excluded, including them in conversations builds rapport and trust. Third, they also are

more parent focused than other teens. Their parents/guardians are usually their chief advocates,

and they are essential to the trust factor with the youth. Including parents builds a stronger

bridge.

I think the primary assessment tool to use with this group is the Strengths Assessment. I

would focus on individual strengths, as well as supports. This is a group where resiliency is
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always a good, stabilizing trait. When we can promote that skill and strengthen it that will have

a positive effect.

Three culturally sensitive goals for this population are: To explore career opportunities

of interest; to enhance independent living skills; and to improve skills in using assisted

technology. Three objectives concerning the first goal of career exploration could be to:

complete a career interest tool; select three career areas to explore; and to arrange informational

interviews with people who are performing that job or career.

The timeframe for these objectives could be at the beginning of the school year, because

this is the time where their classwork is the least. It could also prepare them for the other goal of

getting a summer job/internship at the end of the school year.

Culturally appropriate interventions for this population would be encouragement, one on

one conversations, family conversations, verbal interactions and interventions that include a

developed plan to address the issue. Inappropriate interventions would be those that are

confrontational; those in a group environment because teens do not like their issues brought up in

groups; those with no plans for addressing the issue; interventions in writing because you are not

sure they will have access to technology to read it; and no intervention should be done without

the consent of the parent/guardian. One thing I have noticed about the organization is that the

success of an intervention is determined by the standards of the organization, and not so much by

the expectations of the client.

NOHS Standards for Cultural Competence

In light of my educational pursuits, and the organization I am interning with, I think that

using the National Organization of Human Services standards would be most appropriate. The
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first standard I would like to address is standard 1. It states that “Human Services professionals

recognize and build on client and community strengths” (nationalhumanservices.org, 2018).

DVI is endeavoring to do this more. They are building community within the teen group by

holding events like the Beach House weekend. This is where they take the teens to a large beach

house for a weekend. They have sessions to talk about things like safety, they cook, walk, and

have fun. This is where the idea of the Student Advisory Council is nurtured. The director of

the agency supports these activities and is looking to do more.

A standard that I think could be strengthened is standard 11. It states that “Human

services professionals are knowledgeable about their cultures and the communities within which

they practice. They are aware of multiculturalism in society and its impact on the communities

as well as individuals within the communities. They respect the culture and beliefs of

individuals and groups” (nationalhumanservices.org, 2018). I had a conversation with an

employee of the agency about the fact that there is very little cultural diversity in the clients. The

person replied that different ethnic groups view blindness and sight impairments differently.

However, there is no formal training on how to address these different points of view. This is

important, because if we can better understand the cultures we serve, we can reach them in a

more effective and respectful manner. I think they are doing this informally, but it could be

more formal and comprehensive.

The director and deputy director of DVI are focused on doing everything they can to

serve the community in a manner that is effective in the view of the agency and the client. I

think they take steps forward every year.

CULTURAL IMMERSION: TEENS WHO ARE BLIND 22

Finally

The focus on this group has been critical to me. What it has done is made me consider

what the impact of taking a closer look at any population I serve can have on the quality of the

service. I will use the information I found out to better my agency’s understanding of this

population. I have already started doing this by hosting a lunchtime learning session where we

screened the documentary “Do You Dream in Color”. There were more than twelve people

present, and the feedback was great. I was very happy because it allowed me to share what I had

learned with people who could make a difference for this population.
CULTURAL IMMERSION: TEENS WHO ARE BLIND 23

Maps

New Castle County Site

Area of Population Served

CULTURAL IMMERSION: TEENS WHO ARE BLIND 24

References

Barrett, S. (n.d.). Publications. Retrieved from

https://www.nationalhumanservices.org/publications

Dejean, A., Philpott, T., Drum, K., Levy, P., & Friedman, D. (2017, August 08). Many people

with disabilities are being paid way below the minimum wage, and it's perfectly legal.

Retrieved from https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2017/08/many-people-with-

disabilities-are-being-paid-way-below-the-minimum-wage-and-its-perfectly-legal/

History of Blindness. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.actionfund.org/history-blindness

Miller, B. R. (2015, February 11). History of the blind. Retrieved from

https://www.britannica.com/topic/history-of-the-blind-1996241

Parenting a Teenager Who Is Blind or Visually Impaired. (n.d.). Retrieved from

http://www.familyconnect.org/info/browse-by-age/teenagers/12

Violence Prevention. (2018, July 16). Retrieved from

https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/youthviolence/bullyingresearch/index.html

Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. (2018, October 18). Retrieved from

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Workforce_Innovation_and_Opportunity_Act