Читать книгу Undaunted By Blindness, 2nd Edition - Clifford E. Olstrom - Страница 3

When I was a young boy, I was diagnosed with pre-senile cone dysfunction, a disorder that would lead to eventual blindness. My parents were devastated and could not imagine how I could live independently if I became blind. Like so many other people, they did not know anyone who was blind. They knew only two extremes: the less-than-flattering stereotypes about blind people or at the other end of the spectrum, a rare individual like Helen Keller. Those who are blind or visually impaired have often told me their biggest barrier is not vision loss itself, but society’s view of them as blind people.

Having worked in the blindness field my entire adult life, I’ve met thousands of people with vision loss. They are students attending mainstream schools who are more than capable of keeping up with or surpassing their sighted peers. They’re working nine-to-five jobs and doing them well.

They are raising families, volunteering in their communities and running marathons. Simply put, they’re going about their lives, but in a world made for the sighted. And they are proving every day that blind people can do virtually anything sighted people can, despite the obstacles.

This book will inform, inspire and sometimes surprise. The diverse individuals profiled in the pages that follow, demonstrate that people with visual impairments can achieve extraordinary things. I’ve had the privilege of meeting several of the people featured in this volume and they are indeed noteworthy. My hope is that in reading these four hundred concise biographies, parents of visually impaired children will have hope for their child’s future, employers will be motivated to hire workers with vision loss, teachers of the blind will have high expectations for their students’ success and blind people themselves will aspire to any dream.

Carl R. Augusto

President and CEO

American Foundation for the Blind

“THE ONLY LIMITS IN YOUR LIFE ARE THOSE YOU ACCEPT YOURSELF.”

— MILES HILTON-BARBER

BORN 1948, HARARE, ZIMBABWE